Is it really okay to use Getter Rays in a world of Otome Games? [MobuSeka/Getter Robo]

[Blackraptor]

I was on the right island. I knew that I was on the right island. It was in the place I remember it being from the game. "So where the hell are all the sentry robots that are supposed to be patrolling the island?"

The hidden floating island I was currently on was my one Hail Mary to get out of getting married off to an old hag, not to mention sparing my younger brother from a similar fate. Desperation and spite fueled me to demand things of my family that I was pretty sure I never really earned. Even so, they gave me everything they could acquire even with their meager holdings. I was definitely going to repay my parents for this gamble.

"That's not what this building is supposed to look like." I mutter to myself as I look upwards to a large, surprisingly intact looking, structure. It was a large, sleek, building that was dominated by a massive tower topped with a sphere that looked like it was made of metal. There was overgrowth from all the plant life throughout the walls I could see, but there was no real structural damage to speak of. I was expecting a dilapidated building on the verge of collapse, like the one in the game. That this place looked fine and seemed like a completely different building altogether set me on edge. It implied that I had no idea what could be inside it, if I could even get in. "Well, it's not like I can run home with my tail between my legs."

I proceeded to look for any sign of an entrance I could use to get in, eventually finding a pretty secure looking metal door with an electric control panel next to it. The display on the panel suddenly lit up and I immediately took several steps back and shouldered the rifle dad got me for this trip. I cautiously approached the display after confirming that nothing was going to attack me. To my surprise, it was flashing something on the screen. The message kept switching to a different looking language every few seconds. To my further surprise, some of the text looked like they came from languages of Earth!

Are you human? Please use the keyboard to type your response.

That is what I read when the message switched to Japanese. The prompt to type something made me look down to see an on-screen keyboard. The layout is what I remember it being from a standard computer keyboard. After some hesitation, I reached out and typed my response.

Yes

I pointed my rifle at the door as it started opening. I waited for a few more moments for anything to come out before risking a peek inside. A hallway greeted me that seemed to lead further in. I was about to complain about the darkness when the edges of the ceiling started lighting up bit by bit. Well, that was convenient. I took a breath and went inside. My nose crinkled at the quality of the air I was breathing in. I had never known what stale air was like, but I guess I would smell like this. As if reading my thoughts, I started hearing a soft humming sound. A moment later, a gentle flow of cool air touched my skin.

"This place even has air conditioning? Wow." I was definitely impressed. I saw some doors as I walked along but none of them opened for me. Even the control panels at their side remained unlit. Without any way to get inside, I continued on until I was met with a door that did have its control panel lit up.

Press to Open

Well that seemed simple enough. The door opened to reveal a much larger room, a warehouse more like. I had to force my eyes shut as the lights went on all at once. When I opened them again, I immediately backpedaled into the hallway and nearly fell on my ass. It was a skull. It was a gigantic skull that was partially crushed. Moreover, it looked like a dinosaur skull.

"What the hell is even this place?!" My cry echoed throughout the warehouse without any response. Something in the corner of my vision got my attention and I saw a door in the far end opening. It seemed that the building wanted me to go even deeper. I readied my rifle and went over to the open door, my footsteps becoming uncomfortably loud as they echoed. By the time I got to the door, the lights in the adjoining hallway were already lit. With one last glance at the dinosaur skull, I proceeded.

I eventually encountered a door to the side of the hallway that had its control panel lit up. I looked between it and the rest of the hallway I had yet to explore and deliberated my options. Hoping that the building I was in wasn't labyrinthine in design, I opened the door and was met with an…office?

It definitely looked like an office, an expensive one considering the carpeting and fine furniture within. There were books lined on one of the walls and paintings of people and places I didn't recognize on another. At the end of it was a large wooden desk with a chair behind it. The surface was bare of anything, made even stranger when I ran a finger on the surface.

"No dust." How the hell had dust not accumulated? Is someone actually here? As I asked myself those questions, the surface of the desk suddenly slid open to reveal a sphere the size of a baseball. Was this the cheat item I was looking for?

I backed away and quickly aimed my rifle at the sphere when it started moving. Finger on the trigger, I waited for it to make the next move.

Can you understand Japanese?

I blinked at the gravelly voice coming from the orb. It sounded like an old man who was really tired of everything. It spoke to me in Japanese so I responded in kind, "I can."

The sphere moved around in its container some more until I saw a lens looking back at me. I wasn't about to risk anything and continued to point my rifle at the object until it spoke again.

Is humanity intact?

The question made me lower my rifle a bit. That was a pretty complicated thing to ask. Considering the lore of the setting of this world, the humanity this thing was probably expecting was already long gone. I thought about how I should respond and eventually decided to be upfront about it.

"The humanity you remember is probably gone. There are still humans thriving in the world, but they're not the same anymore." The sphere remained silent for a few moments more than I was comfortable with. I was about to speak again but was thankfully interrupted.

Scans show that there are subtle differences from humans on record. No corruption from Invader cells detected. Further observation is necessary to determine if this evolution was achieved through natural means.

"Okay?" I said in uncertainty. The sphere suddenly floated up from its container and proceeded to exit the office.

Follow, New Human.

"Hey wait!" I called out as I ran after the sphere. After a quick look around the hallway, I followed the floating thing through the rest of the way I had not explored. As I walked, I decided to try to find some answers because this definitely wasn't in the game that I remember. "What even are you? What is this place? How long have you been here?"

I am the control system of this laboratory. This is the Final Saotome Research Lab. Active Atomic Clocks in the lab indicate that it has been seventy-two thousand years since my last activation.

And that pretty much sealed it that this is completely new. There was no such place in this island from the game, at least not one that was actually shown. "So what should I call you?" it actually paused as if considering my question.

No official designation was ever given to me. Though everyone simply referred to me as 'Control'. You may also use that moniker if you wish.

Pretty on the nose but not the weirdest name ever, "My name is Leon Fou Bartfort, nice to meet you Control."

It is also nice to meet you, Leon.

Control continued to float down the hallway with me following behind. I was at least thankful that there wasn't anything hostile in here. I was prepared to fight for my life in order to get the cheat item and claim this island, but I won't complain about this place being so accommodating. "So where are you taking me anyway?"

To the main control room. Further explanations will be provided there.

Deciding to trust Control, I was led through several more corridors and even a couple of elevators. I was still amazed at how well kept everything was. From what Control said, it hasn't been active for thousands of years. So the mystery as to why everything didn't look old and messy is still there. Eventually, I stood in front of a much larger metal door with the words Control Room 1 written above it in English. There was a beeping noise and the doors slid open. After the lights came on, I was greeted with a pretty futuristic looking control room that wouldn't be out of place in a sci-fi movie. I followed Control inside until it stopped in front of the large screen at the front of the room. I was about to ask what was supposed to happen when the screen lit up and seemed to play a recorded video.

"If you are watching this, then what we have hoped and feared has come to pass." An old scientist in the video spoke. He looked pretty ragged. Long, unkempt gray hair, a messy beard, and a suit with a lab coat that didn't look like it had been washed in a long time. "My name is Hayato Jin. If humanity was successful, then it shouldn't matter to you who I am."

"You are currently inside the last of the Saotome Getter Ray Research labs. With any luck, none of those words would mean anything to you either." And it certainly didn't. The man paused to take a swig from a flask in his hand. Was he doing this while drunk?!

"As of the recording of this video, humanity has been embroiled in conflict against one foe after another for decades. An utterly endless stream of pretty much anything you can think of with the sole intent of wiping us out." The scientist–Hayato–continued, looking even more tired as he went on.

"We were hoping that, after we have overcome all our foes, humanity will finally have peace. Instead, we find that we are partially causing the very problem we are fighting against. That after everything is said and done, humanity will eventually inflict the same death and misery to others that we have experienced in the past." Hayato proceeded to angrily throw the flask in his hands somewhere behind the camera. "I suppose that it is simply human nature to destroy. Will we be so afraid that, bereft of any more common enemies, we would turn on each other as we've always had? That looking for even more foes to crush was the only way to keep us united?"

The camera zoomed into Hayato's face, making his horrible complexion and bloodshot eyes even more prominent.

"That shouldn't be what Getter Rays are used for. With that in mind, we will soon enact a plan that will prevent the future that those three saw. This may very well end up wiping us all out, but…" he trailed off. Hey wait a second. He had just just been talking about some pretty unbelievable stuff. The implications of what he was saying was just–

"If you are here then that means that humanity has survived past this. You may also be one of the last, but I'm choosing to be optimistic for once. I just hope that humanity has evolved past the need of constant conflict and destruction by your time." I winced at his words. I had some pretty bad news if he was still around.

"Control here will lead you to our legacy. It is a ship we've named 'Nagare' after an old friend. I hope you keep the name." I immediately perked up at that. A ship? Hey now, this might just work out after all. "It is almost completely automated with almost no maintenance required. Control will fill you in on the details later. Alongside it, I leave behind what will become the final functional Getter Robo. I hope you won't mind the smaller stature compared to its siblings."

I had no idea what that was, the name tingled something at the back of my mind but I couldn't get a hold of it. Still, a free robot from an ancient civilization definitely sounds like a Lost Item.

"It is my final wish that you do not use it to destroy humans. The Getters were all created with the intent to protect humanity, even though that wish will eventually be twisted. Defend what you hold dear with it if you want, but do not make our mistakes. Don't try to turn Getter into a God or a Devil." The context had eluded me, but the weight of his words didn't. Whatever this Getter was, it was apparently strong enough to become either of those. Good news was that I had no intention of becoming a God or a Devil. That would have been way too much hassle.

"Despite everything else. I am glad that humanity lives on after us. This is Jin Hayato. Goodbye." Those were his last words before the video ended and the screen shut off. There was definitely a lot to unpack there. Seemingly picking up on that, Control spoke.

Do you wish to see the Nagare or do you want a few more moments to compose yourself?

"I'll be fine. But I do have a question." I responded as I looked around. Grabbing a nearby chair, I sat down and regarded my surroundings. "So that man, Jin, is leaving the ship at that Getter Robo thing to me. But what about this building and the island it's on. Can I have those too?"

There are no restrictions against it. May I ask why?

After all the absurdity I had just heard from a man from tens of thousands of years ago, I figured that I would see how Control would respond to my next words. "Would you believe me if I said that I was reincarnated from another Earth?"

Yes.

"Wait really?!" I asked in surprise, not expecting the immediate agreement.

The anomalies humanity has encountered before the current date have been vast. There is no reason to think that the continuation of the human soul in some form is impossible.

"And if I said that the current world we are in is based off of a video game dating sim?" I added, the words sounding even more absurd to me when spoken out loud.

You have already stated that you are from another Earth. The memories of one parallel world being transferred by para-dimensional means to someone in another reality who then uses it as inspiration to create a form of media is not impossible.

"You're taking this pretty well. You'll believe me just like that?"

Humanity has seen weirder things. Though I would like to learn more about what you are talking about if you do not currently wish to go to the Nagare.

"You know what, we can talk while we walk." I said as I stood up. We exited the control room and I started to explain everything that I knew. After keeping all of this to myself for all these years, it was just so liberating to be able to just talk about it without being looked at like an insane person. I spoke about the setting of the current world, the matriarchal society, the magic, the Armors, the monsters, the geography, as well as what I expected the plot to be. I made sure to emphasize that I had no intention of being involved with all Saint nonsense. Being called in to fight if I end up as an Independent Knight is expected, but I'd leave the big stuff to the main characters.

I hope that you have learned from the circumstances of your past life. It would be poor form if you have not taken the effort to improve yourself after experiencing the consequences of remaining sedentary.

"Hahaha! Yes! Of course!" There was a bit more alarm in my voice than I intended but Control thankfully did not comment on it. After taking one more elevator several more floors down, we ended up in front of another set of large doors. Control took a moment to get the doors open and what I saw inside made me laugh out in relief and triumph.

The thing that stood out the most immediately was the color. Red, blue, and yellow with red being the dominant one while the blue and yellow were more like highlights or accents. It was pretty huge and had cannons that indicated that it can be used as a warship as well. The sleek angular design definitely continued the futuristic motif I've seen in the rest of this place.

I present the Nagare. One of humanity's final gifts to its future. Would you like a tour, Leon?

As exciting as this was, the offer made me remember something else. "Jin said that there is also something called a Getter Robo in here. I'd like to see that first."

Of course, please follow me inside. It is currently stored in the Nagare's hangar.

Giddy from the prospect of getting everything I could have wanted from this adventure, I happily followed Control inside the massive ship. I wasn't expecting the inside of the ship to be so spacious but the hallways and elevators had a lot of clearance on all sides as if it was expected to house a lot of people. But didn't Hayato say that this thing was mostly automated?

Welcome to the hangar, Leon. I present to you Black Getter F, the third unit to have the Black Getter designation and the final Getter Robo that was assembled.

I look up at the intimidating looking machine. It definitely didn't look anything like any of the Armors from the game. From its size, it was probably at least a head taller than Armors used by the capture targets.

The Black Getters are defined by the circumstances of their creation. The previous two units were built from spare parts of other Getters, with this one continuing the tradition.

"Wait, this thing was made from spare parts?" I asked, not taking my eyes off Black Getter F. Its arms and legs were all very thick and strong looking. I saw that the knuckles were tipped with yellow spikes and the left arm had three dangerous looking blades. I couldn't see any other visible weapons due to the black scarf and cape that it was wearing.

Indeed. The original Black Getter was built from another Getter Robo as a base with assorted parts and improvements added. The second Black Getter was much the same though it took parts from several other models instead. Both units were assembled out of great need and a lack of time.

"And this one as well?" Most of the torso was gray aside from the black chest armor that also had green panels on it. There was what looked like a sealed circular opening in the middle of the robot's stomach but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't see the neck either due to the cape scarf.

Correct. This unit was originally intended to be a second Devolution unit but construction had to be stopped part way and it was cannibalized for parts for the first unit. By the time it could be worked on again, it had to be redesigned once more and refitted with parts from older Getters. At the rate it was being constructed, it would already be replaced by newer models. Professor Hayato decided to take it as a personal project instead of scrapping it and further converted it into what you see today. As the Professor stated, it is much smaller than its contemporaries.

"Right. Small. Sure." I muttered while glancing at the metal mask that seemed to hide the lower half of its face. Red lined the edge of the robot's yellow eyes and continued down to make it look like it was crying. More green panels on the top of its head and a pair of pointed black horns coming out of the side of its head at an angle completed the menacing visage.

"So much for not making it look like a Devil." I commented at the striking visual design of the whole thing. "How do I get inside? Is there an access point in the chest somewhere?"

The cockpit is located inside the unit's head as is tradition. You can access it by retracting the face mask. Please follow me.

Control led me to a set of stairs that went up the left side of the robot. It then extended a walkway that went in front of Black Getter's face. It definitely looked even more intimidating up close like this. With a beep from Control, the entire front metal face mask retracted down to reveal an opening. With one more look to the floating sphere, I hopped inside and immediately noticed something.

"Why are there so many levers?!"

 

[Blackraptor]

"So how do I pilot this thing? The controls look nothing like anything I've ever encountered before, in this life or the last." I looked around the rather cramp looking cockpit and only saw levers upon levers upon levers. It was like the controls for the forklift from hell in here! It could at least have been a steering wheel! Wait, was there ever a robot that was controlled by a steering wheel?

You cannot.

"Excuse me?" I paused just as I was about to pull on one of the levers at random.

If you attempt to pilot Black Getter F as you presently are, you will likely perish.

"Ummm…" That wasn't the response I had hoped for.

Getters are not easy machines to operate. The required skill and conditioning aside, they also use an esoteric power source. I am presently unsure how your biology will react should it be exposed to Getter Rays.

Was this thing radioactive?!

I immediately scrambled out of the cockpit and back onto the walkway, catching myself on the safety railing. "So I guess we'll take it slow then."

Unless you have a pressing, desperate need for Black Getter F's power.

"Not really. The ship and the island itself will be more than enough for what I want right now. Are those Getter Rays you are talking about dangerous?"

It usually depends on the lifeforms in question. On its own, it is not dangerous to humans unless exposed to an extreme amount over a period of time. No different from most other types of radiation.

I blinked and tilted my head to the side, "But you're talking about humanity from seventy thousand years ago."

Seventy-two thousand. And yes. We will need to perform tests later on in small doses anyway if you plan on eventually piloting Black Getter F. The Nagare itself is also powered by Getter Rays so you will be exposed to very miniscule amounts of it over time.

Speaking of my new red ship, I should really clear up anything I needed to do to keep it running. The power source sounded like a good place to start, "Hmm…will we need to perform maintenance for the power–" was as far as I got before Control suddenly floated right in front of my face.

No. Do not approach the reactor room under any circumstances.

"That's not ominous at all. Any particular reason why?" I asked while I was trying to back away from the floating sphere.

The reasons are irrelevant. No one will be going inside the reactor room. Ever.

Okay, what the hell was powering the ship we were in?! "Now you're just making me nervous." I voiced my concern.

I apologize then. There is no need for any alarm so long as the reactor room is sealed. It is fully automated and will take care of itself forever. Please never attempt to enter it.

"You're not going to tell me what is inside the reactor room, are you?" I asked Control with a sigh. The floating sphere somehow managed to look apologetic with the way it angled its lens downwards, as if it was bowing.

I apologize again. Please trust me on this one thing.

"Just promise me that whatever is in there won't become a problem at some point." I didn't exactly like it, but I couldn't really afford to be stingy. I was still on a time limit.

I promise that there is nothing inside the Nagare that will be a threat to you or those you choose to protect.

"Fine. I'm trusting you on this. You said that you can give me a tour of the place?" Control perked back up at my words and started floating up and down.

Of course. Please follow me. We will use the hangar as the starting point.

Like what I noticed earlier on the way to the hangar, the insides of the Nagare were a lot bigger than I expected. I asked Control why everything was so spacious and got a pretty interesting response.

The Nagare was created to house up to three thousand humans. As the ship is fully automated, the space and housing would nominally be used to transport civilians.

"In case there's another crisis?"

Correct. Though I suspect that Professor Jin would have been more than happy if the ship would never need to be used for that purpose.

I was led through the rest of the ship. The armory and food storage areas were empty of course, something to think about later on. The residential area was pretty big as well. Plenty of space for each room, reflecting what Control was talking about earlier. We avoided the reactor and engine rooms, eventually ending up inside the Nagare's bridge.

If you wish to launch the Nagare, it will take an hour to prepare. I will be accompanying you, so do not worry about running the ship.

"Is it really okay for you to just leave the lab? Aren't you the control system for it?" Then again, I wasn't really sure how much an empty research lab would need an AI.

My entirety is not simply stored within this probe unit. My primary core is located deep within the lab. This probe is merely an extension of it. I am also within the Nagare itself as well as Black Getter F.

"Does that mean we need to keep you within a certain distance from the lab? What's the max range that you can function at?" I immediately followed up. Last thing I needed was needing Control but ending up out of range.

Please be at ease. So long as we remain within the planet's sphere, I will still be able to function as normal.

So that means that the signal range of the lab covers the whole planet?! "How?!"

Don't worry about it.

"Another thing you can't talk about?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

More like it wouldn't really matter if you knew how it works or not.

I stared at the sphere for a few more moments as if it would actually do anything. Dammit! I even blinked first! Wait, why was I even trying to have a staring contest with an AI?

"Actually, there is one more thing." I started, deciding to change the subject after remembering another reason why I was out here in the first place. "You wouldn't happen to have piles and piles of treasure conveniently located somewhere on this island would you? I kind of need some. Actually, scratch that. I need as much as you can give."

If by treasure, you mean precious metals and gems, we do have stockpiles of such within warehouses within the island.

"I mean, that's fantastic. But why?" My confusion did not diminish the big smile on my face.

Most are there for raw materials. Gold and Platinum for example are primary components for semiconductors. Others are stored as barter material just in case.

I reached out and started gently patting the top of the sphere, "Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

This is the first time, but thank you all the same. I assume you want a portion loaded into the Nagare?

"That would be great. I need a lot to bring back to show that my expedition has been a success." I explained, reminding Control about my original purpose.

Understood. I'll have drones transport a sufficiently impressive amount.

Looks like things are finally looking up for me!

Control was the one coordinating the transfer of the treasure I was going to bring back, so I didn't really have anything to do. I decided to spend my time waiting productively by slowly spinning around in the Nagare's Captain Chair.

Truly, this is the life.

Leon, I would like to discuss something with you.

I turned to Control, who had docked into one of the control consoles in the bridge.

"Sure thing. What do you need?" I stood from the comfy chair and walked up to where Control was.

With the claiming of this island and the acquisition of the Nagare, Black Getter F, and a large amount of material wealth. We can conclude that you have accomplished all of your objectives.

"We still need to get back home in time, but you're more or less correct. Once I make it official with the Adventurer's Guild and give them their cut, what's left should be enough to get me out of the bit of trouble I'm in." When I talked about my dilemma with Control, as I explained the kind of setting we were in, he also cautioned me from keeping my assets liquid.

Raw cash can be taken away through countless means, so I needed to inject those funds into tangible projects as soon as possible. That gave me the idea of helping my parents restore our family lands and renovate all the infrastructure I could afford. I also floated the idea of cultivating the lands of the island we were on, but Control was less supportive of it considering the research lab was still on here. We agreed to table the topic for now.

Very good. I wanted to know what you plan on using Nagare and Black Getter F for moving forward. Do you plan on doing more expeditions such as this one?

I blinked at the suggestion.

"I never really thought about it. I've just been worrying about my immediate future." I admitted as I sat down on the chair in front of Control's station.

I see. I would suggest you think about it once you have the chance.

"How come? I mainly just want to use the money to get out of a horrible marriage arrangement. After that, I'd probably just continue working under my father once the renovations are done." I stated. I had effectively already won at this point. What else was there?

And afterwards?

"I don't understand." I really didn't. Control remained silent and just stared at me with the probe's single lense.

You have uncovered the final gift from the previous iteration of humanity. The legacy of Getter. The last Getter Robo that you can eventually learn to properly pilot. You quite literally have the means to shake the foundations of this World at your fingertips. Do you truly not want to do anything with it?

"I mean, that's better than me ending up abusing it right?" I reasoned out.

So you would rather let all that power languish like it has for tens of thousands of years?

I think I'm starting to see where this was going. "Please don't tell me you're trying to Spider-Man me."

I am unfamiliar with whatever that is.

"With great power comes great responsibility?" Control didn't know Spider-Man? Weird.

An interesting concept, if a bit self-destructive if interpreted incorrectly. But no, that is not what I meant. You've spoken to me of your previous life as well as your current circumstances. I would like to ask: How do you see yourself as an individual?

"Me? I'm just a lowly background mob." I said without any hesitation. Couldn't really go wrong with the truth.

And you truly believe this?

"I mean, I was born as a mob character by definition. I'm not one of the main or even supporting characters of this world's setting." I elaborated. I thought it was pretty obvious. I wasn't one of the capture targets or even related to anyone important.

I think I'm starting to understand now. This talk has been very insightful. Thank you, Leon.

"No problem?" I wasn't sure what Control got from this, but I won't complain.

Eventually, everything was loaded up and secured in the Nagare's storage bays. The time spent doing that also let the ship completely power up without issue. I was sitting back in the Captain's chair and looked at Control. "Okay, can you prepare for launch? I want to get home sooner rather than later."

Of course. We can launch right away. Please use the Captain's Interface to set our destination.

Doing as suggested, I set our waypoints for the Adventurer's Guild headquarters and my home. "Done and done."

Excellent.

"Hey Control. You said that you're also inside Black Getter, right?" I asked when I remembered something the AI said before.

That is correct. I am within the lab, the Nagare, Black Getter F, and this Probe unit simultaneously.

"Does that mean that you can control Black Getter?" Please say yes. Please say yes.

To a simple degree, yes. Though my capacity to do so is restricted to basic movement. Why?

"I want to make a memorable entrance!"

…

Balcus and Luce Bartfort ran out of their mansion after their son Colin. The young boy had suddenly barged in on a heated discussion between his parents and the matriarch of the family, Zola Bartfort. The old woman demanded that Leon be disowned for not returning from his expedition and to hand over Colin as a replacement marriage candidate.

The boy in question was completely oblivious to the whole thing and excitedly yelled about a giant red ship approaching their manor before running back out. Fearing a sky pirate raid or worse, his parents quickly ran after him.

"Look! Look! It looks amazing!" Colin yelled out as he jumped up and down. He was quickly picked up by his mother and she moved them both behind Balcus. The Bartfort Lord stood protectively in front of his wife and son but his blood ran cold when a giant black shape shot out of the red ship and headed straight for them.

It was an Armor. They were all doomed.

Even though the black Armor landed a distance away from the manor, the ground still shook from the impact. Standing to its full height, Balcus could tell that it was more dangerous than any Armor he had ever seen. It was definitely larger than even the models used by Knights. The baleful yellow eyes of the Armor looked even more intimidating because of the red pupils that moved to gaze down upon them.

Balcus could hear Zola screaming something from within the manor but he didn't really care. He had to find a way to distract the monster Armor and give his wife and son a chance to run aw–

"Mother! Father! Colin! Rejoice!" Balcus' thoughts froze when a voice he had not heard for months came out of the black Armor.

"Leon fou Bartfort has returned! TRIUMPHANT!" the Armor crossed its arms as Leon's family watched in complete shock. The only sound that could be heard was Leon's laughter.

 

[Blackraptor]

"Leon! Get down from that thing and greet your family properly!" My mother yelled up at me as she tried to keep Colin from climbing up Black Getter's foot.

"Sorry mom, I'd rather keep my position of power until we resolve my marriage status." That and I didn't actually know how to make this thing move yet. "Speaking of, is that Zola I spy peeking out from the front door?"

My provocation seemed to trigger the old bat as she started stomping towards us. "Leon fou Bartfort! Dismount and surrender that Armor to me at once!" Looks like her pride won against her good sense considering her demand.

"I'll have to decline. I don't really feel like giving away my property." I definitely was getting a real kick from seeing just how mad Zola looked.

"Stupid child! Your father is under contract with me! As his child, I own everything you have!" I just smirked at her words. If I hadn't made preparations for this encounter, thanks to both Control and the Adventurer's Guild, then I might have gotten worried.

"I apologize then. I'm already a legal adult and a registered Adventurer." I countered with faux concern. "I even made sure to have my new assets officially recognized by the Guild. I have all the paperwork and everything."

Our Kingdom, Holfort, had a very stringent rule about Adventurers being able to keep what they find. The guild takes around twenty to thirty percent of the profits, but that's just the usual bureaucracy.

"If you are that concerned about it, I'm planning on investing most of my treasure back into the Bartfort lands as infrastructure. A better harbor would help a lot in the long term, for example. This also means that I am no longer beholden to marrying anyone for financial security." Even though she couldn't see me, I was sure that my tone conveyed the sheer amount of smugness I was feeling at that moment. Zola was red with anger, but I wasn't about to give that hag even a pinch of my treasure.

I suggest against antagonizing this woman any further. She may not be able to seize your assets, but she may still find a different way to avenge this humiliation.

Control's voice cautioned me from inside the cockpit. I mean, fair, but I deserve some catharsis for what she threatened me with.

"If there are no other issues, I'd like to talk to my parents about some things." I didn't intend to ever apologize, but I could at least drop the subject. Zola decided to back off and stalked back into the manor.

I will be lowering Black Getter F to a kneeling position shortly. Please prepare for disembarkment.

"Thanks a lot for doing this Control." I wouldn't have been able to look this impressive without the AI's help.

You are welcome. This has also been a successful initial test as well.

"Test?" What test?

On whether or not your body would react poorly towards exposure to Getter Rays. I am glad to report that there are no negative effects to the minimum amount needed to operate a Getter Robo.

"That's great!" I squeaked out. I completely forgot about that in my excitement to show Zola up! Oh god! I could have gotten cancer or something if I was unlucky!

I barely even registered Black Getter's movement because of my panic. I only came back to my senses when the displays shut off and the cockpit opened up to show the Getter's massive hand waiting for me to get out. With another word of thanks to Control, I climbed out and was gently lowered to the ground.

"Leoooon!" Colin yelled out right as he jumped into my arms. "You have an Armor! That's amazing!"

My younger brother's joy was infectious enough that I started laughing. Well, up until I felt my father smack me on the upside of the head.

"What were you thinking, not even checking in on us even once?! You damned fool!" Dad scolded me even as he enveloped both me and Colin in a hug.

"My baby boy!" And there was mom. As uncomfortable as this was, I didn't have the heart to shake them off me.

…

A few weeks had passed since my triumphant return. The treasure I brought back with me ended up being valued more than they normally would because of the high quality. That got us even more money to work with after dad got me connected with some buyers. Afterwards, we both agreed that renovating the harbor and roads was to be the first priority as they would make subsequent renovations easier.

Once word of large scale improvements in our lands got around, merchants started showing up in order to take advantage of the windfall and establish themselves in an up and coming market. Control said that any realistic financial gains would not be felt for at least another year, but it was a good start.

Speaking of Control, we had come to the conclusion that keeping people off my new floating island was the best course of action for now. It turned out that the research lab was not just the structure I encountered and some underground facilities. Instead, nearly everything beneath the surface of the island was part of the lab. I mean, the island wasn't big to begin with anyway, but it was still impressive to consider.

So instead, we agreed to slowly start taking out the stockpiles of materials stored in the warehouses and passing them off as mining expedition gains. Of course, we needed to keep exports small to both make it believable and to make the stockpiles last for as long as possible. Control assured me that it would provide a steady flow of income for a few years that I could put back into other investments if I wanted to. By the time we ran out, if we even got that far, the other sources of income I've developed would have started paying off.

Man, having an AI as my financial advisor was super convenient!

Still, even though I wasn't going to use the island for much, it would still be enough to eventually let me coast through life as a Baronet and Vassal of my father after I graduate from the Academy. As much as I wished that I didn't have to attend the Academy because of all the horrible people there, I still needed to 'socialize' with my peers.

We also took this chance to get started in training me to pilot Black Getter. I would have liked to say that I suddenly discovered my hitherto unknown ability to become an ace pilot, but of course such a thing was impossible for a mob like me. I actually had to do things the hard way, which is what I was doing.

-Baby Mode-

Those were the words that were plastered on the upper part of the display inside Black Getter's cockpit. I reached out and pushed a lever forward and was greeted with an error noise and the whole inside of the cockpit flashing red a couple of times.

As Control explained to me, attempting to pilot Black Getter at full capacity at my skill level would end up with the robot on the ground several miles away and me dead from the physical trauma. Professor Jin anticipated that whoever would inherit the Getter Robo might not be up to the standard they would want as a pilot, so they installed several levels of control complexity access to ease any new pilot into the process.

The lowest setting, Baby Mode, would prevent any action that would cause the Getter to fall over. Instead of taking the command, it would just show as an error like what happened just now. It was really embarrassing, but it wasn't like anyone else was watching.

"I still don't understand why there are so many levers when you said that controlling a Getter is more about focus and intent." I complained as the cockpit lighting went back to normal.

That has more to do with Professor Jin's sense of nostalgia as older Getter models featured this style of controls.

"But I could control this even without touching the levers, right?" I asked, tapping one of the levers with a foot.

Theoretically, but I would suggest against attempting to do so. The levers may be superfluous, but they act as a focus for the pilot. Humans do not normally learn to manipulate machinery using their mind, they do so with their hands and feet. Having something to physically manipulate makes the process feel more natural.

"Sure. That makes sense, I guess."

Pushing the right lever is equated to moving forward. Pulling the left lever is equated to equipping a weapon. Pushing another lever activates flight. Pulling another activates a different weapon. On and on until it comes naturally, to the point that you no longer notice it.

I look around at the array of levers. "So what am I doing wrong?"

You don't believe that the levers do anything, so they don't.

I blinked, opened my mouth, then closed my mouth.

Hmmm…

I would suggest trying it. There aren't any real consequences to failing.

That was a fair point. Right, intent. Believe that it will work. I looked around and settled on a lever that seemed like it would be the most comfortable to use for movement. I reached out and pushed it forward.

I smiled as Black Getter started to walk forward.

Without saying a word, I eased up on the lever and the giant robot slowed to a stop.

Well what do you know?

Excellent. Well done, Leon.

Unfortunately, the breakthrough didn't make me an expert overnight. It got me out of Baby Mode at least.

…

As part of my overall plan for the future, I had tried to convince my parents that I could be independent. At first, they didn't believe that I was responsible enough to be left on my own. I countered that I had an Armor, a ship, and my own floating island.

That made them even more skeptical. Rude.

It was then that their hands were forced when a letter from the Capital arrived.

"Excuse me?" I asked dad after he explained the contents of the letter. I was summoned back home and was currently in his office.

"In recognition for discovering a new floating island, uncovering new lost items, and acquiring a large amount of treasure from clearing an unknown dungeon, you have provisionally been granted the title of Baron. This is under the condition of eventually graduating from the Academy as a Knight." Dad summarized the contents of the letter before handing it to me. I scanned the piece of paper over and over again as if I could change its contents through force of will.

I was unsuccessful.

"Wait! If I do that, I'll be your peer instead of a Vassal!" Dad merely rubbed his temple at my alarm.

"I am aware how the nobility is structured, son."

"Can I decline?" Based on the look my dad gave me, it wasn't an option.

"Your achievements are too impressive to ignore. That the Royal Palace itself praised you is basically an order to attend the Academy as an equivalent to a fully recognized noble heir." He explained and I could do nothing but slump in my seat, my plans crumbling right before my eyes.

"But I was just planning on attending under General Studies, like Nicks." My whining just made dad sigh in exasperation. Clearly wanting to be like my older brother wasn't going to fly.

"Then you shouldn't have shown back up with all the stuff you brought back with you." How dare my father justifiably point out the consequences of my choices!

The curriculum in the Academy is divided into two main tracks based on the students' social standing.

Those of lower noble status, like the sons of Knights or Baronets, or even sons of houses who would not end up eventually inheriting anything, end up in General Studies.

Sons of higher standing houses end up in Higher Studies. Of course, due to the matriarchal setting, daughters of noble houses all go straight to Higher Studies regardless of the standing of their house.

There are exceptions, of course, but that's how it usually goes. Unfortunately, I was now one of those exceptions.

It gets even worse.

The Academy is generally also where children of noble houses find their future spouses, with sons being very strongly advised to find a suitable bride by the time they graduate.

"You have to undergo education in Higher Studies in order to learn how to manage your future Barony. It's not just about learning to take care of your lands either. It will also be a chance to establish yourself with your future peers and superiors." He continued and I felt more and more mentally tired as he went on. I suddenly felt my spine tingle when he sent me a very meaningful look. "This also means that the girl you decide to court while you are there must be from a prominent family befitting your new status."

Nooooooooo!

"But girls from Baronies and up are horrible harpies! You can't possibly think that they'd actually take someone like me seriously?!" I bemoaned. I had originally planned on just finding a nice simple girl from a family of lower status to avoid all that nonsense. Someone like my mother, who was mellow and supportive.

"Hey now. Zola is not the norm when it comes to women in the nobility. I'm sure there will be nice girls at the Academy!" Dad tried to assure me, but I wasn't buying it.

"At least look me in the eye when you say that, dad." Mainly because of that.

He ignored my words and cleared his throat. "You can also take this as an opportunity. The crown prince and several other prominent heirs will be attending in the same year as you. This is your chance to get into their good graces."

Right, the five possible love interests of the main heroine. Based on my own experience from going through the game, I already knew how well trying to suck up to them would turn out.

"Stop making such a disgusted face. Your enrollment is already set on stone, so you might as well make the most of it." Just because that was true didn't mean I had to like it.

I then blinked when he stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know you think this will be impossible, but you've already done the impossible right before my very eyes. Despite my and your mother's misgivings, I know that you will find a way to overcome the challenges in the Academy as well."

Aw come on! I was trying to be mad at you, dad!

…

"So what exactly can this thing do?" I asked while looking at the unassuming black and green colored bracelet around my right wrist. I was back on my island, making preparations for my departure for the Academy. Ugh! Even thinking about it is making me upset.

Its primary purpose is as a communication device and as a health monitor.

I was currently with the floating probe in one of the many, many, lab areas deep underground where I was outfitted with my new accessory.

It will allow us to contact each other as well as inform me if you are in any critical danger.

That's actually super useful! "So how do I use it to talk to you? I don't see any buttons."

Like with controlling Black Getter F, you will simply need to want to speak to me. This can also act as off-field practice for you on using intent to control a system.

I raised my arm up and spoke into the bracelet. "Hello? Hello? Can you read me? Over." Wow, this felt like a spy gadget or something.

Negative. We will have sufficient time to practice before you start at the Academy.

"Ugh! Don't remind me."

If possible, I would like to know of your experiences in the Academy as they happen. If you need advice, as well as someone to vent to or bounce ideas off of, I would be happy to do so.

I raised my eyebrow at that. "You sure? I didn't think that you'd be interested in all the nonsense that will happen there."

The opportunity to find out more about the society that the new humanity has built would be worthwhile. Not everything important is exciting. In fact, most important things are very boring. Seeing how the future leaders of your country develop and grow will also be interesting.

I thought about it for a moment before making a suggestion. "Do you want to just come along then? I'm sure you have some super technology that will make you invisible or something."

I had considered it, but decided to give you space and privacy in this matter.

"I appreciate the gesture, but I would be fine if you want to come along. God knows that you'd be better conversation than anyone else I'll meet there." I shuddered at all the inane things that I'd need to talk about during the tea party events as part of trying to find a bride.

Then I will take you up on the offer. A special stealth drone will be assembled shortly for this purpose. You should keep the communications bracelet anyway as its functions will still be valuable in emergencies.

I smiled at Control. Having someone I know who is on my side for sure will definitely make the whole thing more bearable. "Sure, but don't expect too much. I plan on completely staying under the radar during my entire stay at the Academy."

An odd silence settled between the two of us, almost like a sense of comfortable companionship and–

You realize that there is a narrative concept known as 'jinxing yourself', yes?

SHUT UP!

 

[Rodvek97]

Nice, upload the story here too.

 

[Blackraptor]

I was reminded of the video game origins of the world I was reincarnated to when I started educating Control about Holfort's capital. As per standard with most fantasy settings, the capital itself was situated right in the middle of the country. For some ungodly reason, there was an ancient dungeon there that endlessly spawned monsters, which in turn got farmed for resources in a perpetuating cycle of violence and profit. Control asked me how irrigation was supposed to work for floating islands as several of them seemed to have endlessly flowing waterfalls that dumped out water, I had no answers to give.

Regardless, I managed to get enrolled without much issue. I accompanied my older brother Nicks and my older sister Jenna as they were going back to continue their education for the new term. My brother was a third-year in General Studies while my sister was a second-year in Higher Studies. Sadly, Jenna had the same twisted attitude that most girls her age did in this setting. I lamented that such a girl came from our mom.

The campus itself was way more spacious than I ever expected, with several buildings dotted throughout. My stomach dropped when I was informed that Higher Studies dorms were separate from General Studies dorms. The apologetic look that Nicks gave me as we split up part way did not make me feel better about the situation at all.

Three years. I had to deal with this place and the people inside for three years. Not to mention that I had to find a bride by the end of it. Argh!

Fascinating. The structure and furnishings don't seem that different from what humanity used to use.

An invisible Control spoke out after I let the new Stealth Drone body out of my bag. The sound from the AI's voice came from different parts of my new dorm room as it spoke. "I don't know what to tell you. A room is a room. A bed is a bed."

Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with a roommate either.

True. Though I had hoped for more noteworthy differences considering the liberal applications of magic everywhere else.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait long for my first dose of socializing with my peers. I was soon dragged out of my room by an upperclassman and was brought to a bar off campus along with the other first years. Control followed along and was more than happy to simply observe the proceedings in silence. The speech by one of the upperclassmen pretty much summarized the purpose of this get together: start building your networks and power bases but don't be assholes to each other.

I got some attention by virtue of being an Adventurer at my age, normally people wait to graduate before trying that career out. Apparently my accomplishments were more impressive than I expected as my reputation and feats seemed to have been making rounds among the nobility. My dad did warn me about that.

I did gain a couple of new friends out of the whole thing though. Daniel Fou Durland and Raymond Fou Arkin filled out the athletic and nerdy school friend stereotype respectively. We bonded over our mutual status as mobs in the eyes of nobility and our future struggles in trying to find a girl who wasn't horrible.

"Didn't you guys hear about the Special Scholarship Student that was enrolled this year too?" My ears perked up at the words of one of our upperclassmen. A commoner nobody from nowhere important. A girl with no accomplishments, no connections, and no support at all.

This was a girl who was the descendant of a special ancient bloodline and would help shape the future of this country. The girl who was going to be the target of the affections of the crown prince as well as four other sons of great houses. The main protagonist, Olivia.

"There has to be a reason why she was enrolled in Higher Studies despite her status. If you guys learn anything, let me know." Daniel and Raymond nodded but I just hummed in faux agreement.

Like hell I was going anywhere near that girl!

A few days later, the official entrance ceremony for new students was held. Of course, among them was the crown prince himself, Julius Rapha Holfort. Definitely fit the bill for a Prince Charming type with his shiny blue hair, handsome looks, and tall stature. Naturally, most of the girls in the auditorium focused in on him.

"Something wrong, Leon?" Raymond asked when I started looking around.

"I'm not sure…" I muttered. I felt my spine tingle for just a second and tried to find the source but all I could see were just more students.

"Did you already find a prospect?" Daniel asked with a smirk as he also tried to look around. No way, definitely not what he was thinking. If I'm lucky, it was just a fluke and I'd never have to deal with whatever that was again.

…

Several weeks into my enrollment at the Academy and I've finally gotten into the swing of things. Being a lowly mob, nothing really important happened to me. I mainly just did school stuff and hung out with Daniel and Raymond. This far into the game's timeline though, the main protagonist should have already met and started socializing with all her love interests. She'll probably pick the prince but the other four were probably viable too. A clash between her and her main antagonist may have already happened as well. I wasn't sure since I didn't really pay attention to the school gossip. I already did my time with this game before I was reborn, I wasn't going to let myself get dragged back in.

"So, who will you guys invite for your Tea Party?" Daniel asked, eliciting groans from Raymond and myself. There was a long holiday at the start of the following month and the men of the Higher Studies track were expected to invite a girl to an elaborate Tea Party in order to grow closer and check compatibility for possible marriage. In the game, it was just an excuse to have one-on-one events between the protagonist and the love interests. Here? It affected everyone else. As sons of lower ranked nobility, none of us really had any clout to be able to attract anyone of note. Even my status as Adventurer didn't matter. The girls looked at our families, not ourselves.

It got even worse as the Tea Parties needed to be financed by the students out-of-pocket individually. Since they weren't "Official" school events, then the school was not obligated to foot the bill. You couldn't even opt out of hosting Tea Parties as word would spread that you didn't even make the effort, then you really wouldn't get any attention from any of the girls no matter what you tried in the future.

"I don't have a lot of allowance, so I'll need to get creative on how to make things look good." Raymond explained. "I don't even care who attends, I just hope that someone shows up."

"Don't remind me. I have to go even further beyond for my Tea Party." I despaired at my friends. Because of my accomplishments and provisional title, the students already saw me as someone who had established affluence. I continue to suffer from my own success. Someone let slip the sheer amounts of wealth I had brought back to my family from my expedition. Looks like Control was right on the money when they said that Zola would find some other way to get me back for humiliating her.

Our discussion paused as Prince Julius walked past, followed by a gaggle of girls hoping to get his attention. Also accompanying him was one of the other love interests, the Prince's Best Friend, Jilk Fia Marmoria. His long green hair and matching gentle eyes gave him an impression of someone you can rely on in confidence.

"We can also thank those guys for upping the expectations when it comes to Tea Parties in general." I grumbled. How was I supposed to compete with guys who were literally designed to be appealing to teenage girls?!

My self loathing was brought to a halt when a certain girl suddenly walked right up to the prince, followed by her own entourage. Golden blonde hair that was tied in a bun, reminiscent of a famous character from my old life, piercing red eyes that showed strength, beautiful white skin with no flaws. Angelica Rapha Redgrave, the main antagonist of the game and the prince's betrothed. She and the prince started arguing about his Tea Party arrangements for a bit but were interrupted by a new arrival.

Short stature, long blonde hair, blue eyes, a dainty looking girl when compared to someone like Angelica. Her name was Marie Fou Lafan, a Viscount's daughter. She approached and got the prince's attention. "Your highness."

The contrast between his irritation towards Angelica and his relief towards Marie was obvious to anyone. It was obvious that the Redgrave daughter did not appreciate the interruption.

"Marie! I was looking for you." Prince Julius greeted the petite girl.

Oh man, Angelica really didn't like that.

Literally no one dared to move as the standoff continued. Even the three of us sitting on an out of the way bench were too intimidated to leave.

"I can't believe how close Marie got to the prince considering she slapped him one time." What? I turned to look at Raymond, who just spoke. "I know right? And the prince just laughed it off too."

"Well, I heard that she ate steak with some prominent nobleman and gobbled it up like a wild animal." Daniel added and got a weird look from Raymond.

A slap and a steak. That sounded familiar.

"The boys at school will start holding tea parties next month. I don't really like doing anything too elaborate so I plan on simply inviting a select few. I was hoping that you would grace me with your presence there as well." Prince Julius continued his conversation with Marie, completely ignoring Angelica in the process.

"Your highness, I must protest." Angelica pushed herself back into the conversation. "Someone of your standing should have a Tea Party befitting it."

"Enough! You may be my betrothed, but I make my own decisions here." The prince cut her off and Angelica apologized with a short bow.

Wait a minute! This was one of the main scenes from the game! Why was this happening without the main protagonist?!

"You guys see the Special Scholarship Student around?" Daniel and Raymond looked at each other when I asked.

"This isn't the time, man. Why would she even be here?" Daniel answered. Because she was supposed to be here! This was kind of an important moment from the Prince Julius Route!

Angelica backed off and left shortly afterwards and Marie was able to properly accept the prince's invitation. An invitation that was supposed to have gone to the main protagonist.

I shook my head. It was fine. If Marie snags Julius, that still leaves four other love interests that Olivia could get with. I put it out of my mind. I wasn't involved and I didn't want to get involved.

…

One of the stranger yet pleasant surprises I had during school was that I sort of, kind of, ended up getting a hobby. Absolutely ironically, it was making and serving tea. I thought it was extremely weird but Control was fully supportive of it and explained why.

Developing an interest that is completely divorced from the work you normally do is very important to winding down. Associating the activity with feelings of relaxation and comfort benefits your mental and emotional health.

So it was then that I began my path towards the mastery of tea.

The upside to my new hobby was that I gained a lot more confidence in hosting my own Tea Party. I secured a room in school and sent out an invitation to a Baron's second daughter, which should be good enough standing for the bride requirement. I was finishing up some last minute preparations, with Invisi-Control floating somewhere else in the room, when said girl walked into the room…followed by two other girls.

"Oh, welcome miss, umm..." I trailed off as I glanced between her and the other girls, who started snickering.

"They're my friends." the girl I invited said easily enough as she sat herself down on the table. Her friends quickly got their own chairs and positioned themselves so that I didn't have any room to sit. "We were invited to another tea party but had time to kill, so we'll be staying here for a bit."

Without any more preamble, the three girls started eating up the snacks I had laid out.

Doing my best to stay calm, I walked up and politely offered some tea. They barely acknowledged me and went back to chatting amongst themselves even as I poured them drinks. In the course of half an hour, I tried to insert myself into their conversation between refills but they just completely ignored me. They then just up and left without another word, leaving me with nothing.

"Why those stupid little–" my rising anger and rant was interrupted when I heard shouting just outside the room I was using.

"I don't care if you were invited, a commoner doesn't deserve to attend a tea party hosted by the heir of the Field Earldom!" with those words, several footsteps started to walk away. I made my way out of the room just to confirm if the commoner they were talking about was the same one I was expecting.

Flaxen blonde hair styled into a simple mid-length bob cut, blue eyes with a touch of green, and a gentle looking face. A complete girl-next-door look for an unassuming heroine. Cute, but definitely not in the same league as Angelica. Yep. I was definitely looking at the main protagonist, Olivia.

"You okay?" I called out as Olivia stared at the torn up invitation to another tea party on the floor. She looked up at me and her eyes widened in surprise.

"It's you…" she whispered, forgetting about the torn invitation and walking up to me. I suddenly felt my heartbeat quicken when she reached out and cupped my face. "...that pretty green light."

Excuse me?

 

[Rodvek97]

"It's you…" she whispered, forgetting about the torn invitation and walking up to me. I suddenly felt my heartbeat quicken when she reached out and cupped my face. "...that pretty green light."

Click to shrink...

Hmm..? What happen here? What happen to Olivia and why i feel her already become Yandere to Leon?

 

[GiftofLove]

Olivia's hair is supposed to be a flaxen blonde, isn't it? Its that an intentional change?

I'm curious about this story. Is this the regular Leon, or an alternate?

 

[Blackraptor]

Olivia's hair is supposed to be a flaxen blonde, isn't it? Its that an intentional change?

I'm curious about this story. Is this the regular Leon, or an alternate?

Click to shrink...

Leon's description of her hair in the official translation of volume one is "blondish-brown", which sounded weird to me so I just made it light brown. I'll change it to flaxen since that sounds much better. The edit will be done shortly, thanks.

This is canon!Leon who found something else. He's just starting to act different as his main partner is different. Control's guidance and supportiveness as opposed to Luxion's hypercompetence and derision.

 

[x+y=1]

Hmm..? What happen here? What happen to Olivia and why i feel her already become Yandere to Leon?

Click to shrink...

I'm going with her somehow noticing the Getter Ray exposure.

As for the story itself idk the Otome side of things and my Getter knowledge is mostly secondhand for now, but I am really enjoying all the threads getting woven together.

 

[GiftofLove]

I'm going with her somehow noticing the Getter Ray exposure.

As for the story itself idk the Otome side of things and my Getter knowledge is mostly secondhand for now, but I am really enjoying all the threads getting woven together.

Click to shrink...

Well, I'm not sure what changes Getter had on Olivia's special power, but . . .

Spoiler: Olivia Spoilers

since Olivia has a massively powerful latent psychic ability, she's probably seeing whatever effect Getter Rays have on the mind/soul.

 

[Blackraptor]

It's never really going to come up since it's the last Getter so there isn't really any need to compare sizes with its older relatives. But for scaling purposes, Armors in MobuSeka have some pretty wonky sizes. One book says that they are around 3 meters tall (like the Kobu from Sakura Wars) then volume 5 turns around and says that Leon jumped down 5 - 6 meters from the Arroganz cockpit. Making them maybe a bit bigger even though "modern" armors are definitely smaller than Arroganz.

Just for piece of mind, Black F is 18 meters (under half Getter-1s 38). Big enough for Leon to climb inside the head but make it cramped. Unfortunately, this means that Open Get will probably kill someone inside of it so none of that.

 

[Blackraptor]

I glanced at Olivia as she bowed at me while I got her a cup of tea. "I apologize again for my impertinence. I shouldn't have just done that when we weren't even introduced. I am Olivia, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Leon. Leon Fou Bartfort. And I wasn't offended, so it's fine. Really." I assured her, hoping some tea would calm the girl down. "I would like an explanation for what you said though."

The future Saint took the cup in her hands and closed her eyes. "I can't really find the words to explain it. Ever since I arrived at the Academy, I kept seeing–feeling–a faint gentle green light coming from somewhere. The first time I did was back at the Entrance Ceremony."

"It didn't happen all the time so I just thought that it was just nerves from being around so many Nobles." She continued before opening her eyes and looking at me. "But I was trying to find where the Tea Party I was invited to was located when I sensed the same faint green light coming from this room and I got curious."

"That's when you ran into those girls." I completed the events that led to our meeting. She nodded and I sat down across the table from her. "Am I still glowing now?"

Olivia took a sip of the tea and smiled. "I can't really say that it is a glow. It's more like faint traces clinging to you and coming from within? Sorry, I'm not really explaining it well."

"No, it's fine." I answered distractedly. Could it be because of those Getter Rays Control was talking about? "It's not distracting or distressing you though, is it?"

"Oh not at all." I sighed in relief as she said that. Last thing I wanted was somehow giving the main protagonist radiation sickness or something. "In fact, I've felt a great deal of comfort ever since we started talking."

Her face suddenly went red and she quickly looked away from me. "I mean, the light! The light is comforting! I didn't mean to imply anything else!"

Ah, of course. The only way a mob like me would ever get the attention of someone like the future Saint would be because some weird beams were literally coming out of my body.

"I understand. Please be at ease." I used every bit of the etiquette lessons taught to me up to this point to keep my face straight. "Actually, I wanted to ask about that other Tea Party you were supposed to go to."

"Oh! I was invited by the heir of the Field family. He said that he was interested in talking to the Special Scholarship Student, but it seems like the other nobles didn't share his opinion." Olivia's smile became strained as she finished her story.

Brad Fou Field. Son of an Earl and one of the love interests. Pretty foppish playboy with long purple hair and matching eyes. He was the weakest among the five physically but was pretty good with a lance. His greatest asset though was his impressive talent at magic.

"Well, that's fine. The girl I invited pretty much blew me off anyway." I said, pushing a platter of sweets towards Olivia. "Might not be what either of us expected, but there's no reason not to enjoy the tea and company anyway."

"Are you sure? This tea and these snacks look quite expensive." She pointed out but I waved off her concern and poured myself a cup to drink. The girl that all this was intended for didn't deserve it, so might as well use it for someone who would actually appreciate the effort I put in.

"Still, I don't even know why I'm even here at the Academy." Olivia continued as she nibbled on a cookie. Man, she really liked to put herself down. "I can barely keep up with everyone else in studies and I don't really have any friends either."

Wait a minute.

"None at all? None of the other male students approached you? I mean, aside from Brad Fou Field." I asked and was puzzled when she shook her head. That didn't make any sense. Olivia struggled in the early game because of her bad stats, but that was to incentivize the player to pick a love interest so their respective specializations would boost her stats depending on who she went with. Even without any early flags with any of the love interests, Julius should have been looking out for her as part of the Common Route that let her be introduced to the other guys she could pick from.

I wasn't paying attention at all because we didn't share any classes and because I didn't want to be part of the plot of the game.

"I apologize for burdening you with my problems even though you went out of your way to provide me with hospitality." The girl said miserably and made to stand. "Thank you for your time, Leon."

Honestly, did this poor girl suck up all the humility from her peers?

"You deserve to be here." The confidence in my statement made her pause right as she was about to leave the table. "We've never had a Special Scholarship Student, especially a commoner. Not to mention that your enrollment here was facilitated by the Royal Palace. That probably made everyone worry as to why. But the fact is that you're here because someone who is probably more important than anyone else in the Academy wanted you here. That counts for a lot."

Olivia looked at me with hopeful eyes that I really wanted to look away from because of how pure they were. "But what good is that if everyone I talk to says that I don't belong here?"

"Ignore them." I quickly said before grinning. "Better yet, tell them to forward their complaints to the Royal Palace. That should shut a few of them up."

Probably due to the absurdity of my statement, Olivia actually started giggling. It sounded nice.

"We still have a bit more tea and snacks. Why don't you help me take care of the rest of them, eh?" She accepted and we continued our impromptu Tea Party, even though it really didn't have anything to do with its intended purpose of finding me a bride.

Olivia also brought up the desire to learn more about Magic but she said that she seemed to keep offending everyone because of certain "unwritten rules" in the Academy. Ah, yes. I knew about the Academy's version of the "Bro Code" and I can't even imagine what the super secret rules for the girls would be like.

I felt my eye twitch when I realized that I knew a person who would be perfect to help Olivia. It'd be like pulling teeth, but I wasn't heartless enough to leave her like that. I knew a thing or two about being looked down upon.

"Actually, I know someone who can help." I winced when I saw the beautiful smile that Olivia suddenly had. Yeah, no backing out of this then.

After calling for her and waiting several minutes, my older sister sat between me and Olivia. Her new cat-eared beast slave, one that mom got really pissed at her for getting, stood stoically behind her. I wonder if she knew why cats yowled all the time whenever they mated?

"Well, at least you had the good sense to call upon me instead of trying to give her advice yourself." Jenna imperiously after taking a sip of the tea I poured her. Physically, she takes after our mother pretty accurately. Long brown hair tied to a ponytail and sharp amber eyes that gave a tomboyish impression. Sadly, she was nowhere near as nice as mom was.

"Thanks for coming, Jenna. I really appreciate you taking the time to help Olivia with this." I replied with a smile through gritted teeth. My sister looked at the fidgeting Olivia then back to me, her eyes narrowing.

"Why are you even helping out the Special Scholarship Student? Don't you have your own things to worry about?" I chose to ignore the flinch that Olivia had at the question. "What do you even get out of it?"

Aside from ensuring that she becomes Holfort's salvation when the time comes? No, that reason was plenty. I live here after all.

"You know how I'm just prone to random bouts of altruism, dear sister. I mean, I put most of my treasure towards improving our family lands without a second thought." I answered with a much more natural smile. Jenna clicked her tongue and looked away. Yeah, all the extra income that had been flowing because of my contributions was the only reason why she was able to even afford her catboy and she knew it.

She then proceeded to educate Olivia about the proper courtesy in paying respect to the girls in her class. From writing a letter and providing a gift to the one with the richest family, making sure to do her proper research beforehand. Even going so far as asking for an intermediary from their entourage. Why was this starting to sound like political bribery?

"I don't have the kind of money to buy high quality sweets!" Olivia said in a panic when Jenna suggested the type of gifts that would work best. Jenna then gave her a sweet smile before gesturing to me. Wait–

"I'm sure Leon's random bouts of altruism will kick in and he'll finance your gift." As irritating as it was, I could respect the turnabout my sister pulled. "If the girl talks to you directly or reciprocates with her own gift, then you're good until graduation as long as you don't do anything stupid."

Olivia glanced at me nervously and I knew I was trapped. "I'll pay for your gift, don't worry."

"I'll pay you back for it eventually, I promise!" I waved off her concern and noticed Jenna eating up the remainder of the snacks I set out. Well, that was fine. She gave good advice without giving Olivia a hard time for being a commoner.

Jenna left soon after finishing up the snacks, with Olivia leaving a bit later to research a suitable gift for her class' top dog. I closed the door and started cleaning up.

That girl Olivia could sense Getter Radiation.

Control finally spoke out once I was alone. "I was wondering if that was what she was talking about. Is it dangerous?"

It should not be. I have been monitoring your health ever since you started piloting Black Getter F and there have been no ill effects. Proximity to other humans have not caused any issues for them either.

"Olivia is the main protagonist of the game. It might be her potential as a Saint that is making her notice, maybe." Though I had no idea what Getter Rays had to do with her specifically. Another change from what happened in the game?

Perhaps. Though I thought you said that you were going to stay under the radar, as it were?

"Well, you did say that I jinxed myself." I sarcastically said before thinking about it a bit more. "But this situation is something I can work with."

How so?

I then explained that Olivia should have already started getting the attention and support of the love interests. "But she said that she didn't have any friends. With Marie taking up Prince Julius' attention, she doesn't even have his support until she gets close to one of them."

Then are you suggesting that you would take on the role of Olivia's love interest?

I made a horrified expression at the implication. "No way! Don't even joke about that, Control!"

Why not? She clearly already sees you as a friend at the very least. Additionally, you are already supporting her and have the means to protect her if the need arises.

"I'm a mob character, Control. It doesn't matter if I have Black Getter and the Nagare." I grumbled as I explained my personal importance once again. As much as I had accomplished already, they were there to secure my own future. I didn't have any delusions that they were really all that impressive in the grand scheme of things. "Narratively and politically, I'm a nobody. No, the plan will be that I will use my new bond with Olivia to nudge her towards one of the love interests. They hit it off, fall in love, save Holfort, and I quietly fade into the background as they ride off into the sunset."

A viable strategy. Though I hope that you are not artificially devaluing yourself by thinking that way. You are worth more than you think you do, Leon.

I chose not to respond to that statement.

…

Olivia stood nervously in the personal quarters of Angelica Rapha Redgrave. After a few days of asking around, it turned out that all the girls had to pay respect to Angelica as the highest ranked girl in the academy. In hindsight, it made sense as she was going to eventually marry the Crown Prince.

"I acknowledge your effort to pay respect to me, Olivia." Angelica eventually said after she sipped some tea. "I have no personal grudge against you. Simply act as is appropriate for someone of your station and you should not encounter any issues."

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. It was just like what Jenna told her. "I can stay at the Academy then?"

She knew that she had overstepped her bounds with how Angelica gave her a sharp look. She dismissed the other girls who were also in the room and waited until they were alone before speaking once more. "You were supposed to just partake of the tea, nod, and leave. Asking questions unnecessarily will just create complications if you are not careful."

"I'm sorry?" Olivia apologized, a bit surprised at the gentler tone that Angelica spoke to her with.

Angelica regarded the commoner in front of her. She wasn't anything special. Indeed, she looked rather plain as she gently started drinking her own cup of tea. She was certainly more pleasant than that girl who had been getting closer to the prince. Angelica closed her eyes and calmed herself down. This wasn't the time for that.

"I'd like to know how you were able to ascertain the proper protocol in the first place." She raised a hand when Olivia suddenly looked distressed. "I am not asking because I am upset. I am merely curious."

From what her followers had told her about Olivia, the girl didn't have any friends to speak of. The boys were all looking at other girls and the girls didn't want anything to do with her. Angelica wanted to know who decided it was worth their time to reach out to her.

"Oh, it was Leon. Leon Fou Bartfort." The girl helpfully answered.

"The third Bartfort son. I had heard of his eccentricities, though I don't dislike him." Angelica mused as she recalled what she knew about the boy.

"You know Leon?"

"I'm surprised you don't know more about him. He is rather gifted and is certain to become a knight." Angelica said. At the dumbfounded look Olivia gave her, she decided to educate the poor girl further. "To be able to attain the rank of Baron by himself, to say nothing of his accomplishments as an Adventurer. He has already achieved more for his age than most would ever even try. A very impressive young man."

Olivia just sat there as Angelica complimented Leon. Was her new friend really that amazing?!

 

[Rodvek97]

Noice chapter

 

[Blackraptor]

Holfort was founded on the blood, sweat, and tears of Adventurers. The profession was ingrained into the society as much as the Samurai were in Japan. As such, all Academy students, regardless of status, were registered with the Adventurer's Guild. The intention was so that even the children of nobility would be able to experience a bit of what their ancestors once did. Children of lower nobility actually took advantage of the certification to gain extra funds from Adventuring. It was apparently very common for male students to go out and accrue cash by doing this during holidays or the weekends. Tea Parties weren't cheap after all.

I didn't have to register with the guild as I was already an active adventurer in the system. I was actually super excited when we were told that there would be Adventuring classes where we would delve into the dungeon inside the Capital. I didn't actually get a proper dungeon dive when I found the Saotome Research Lab as it wasn't even a dungeon to begin with.

When Control found out what this particular class was all about, the AI immediately went and put together equipment for me to use. Everything was manufactured in the Nagare and was delivered to me via my family a few days ago.

The first thing I got was my armor, but really, it was supposed to be my official pilot suit for Black Getter. Control had apparently already been designing it for a while now and just expedited the creation process. It was a full body suit that covered me from neck to toe. Form fitting but incredibly comfy and was apparently fully weather insulated. Most of it was colored black but had grey lines that zig-zagged from my shoulders to my knees. There was a big green racing stripe that went from my sternum, then around my shoulders, and down the sides of my arms. The boots and gauntlets had some sort of plating protecting them. It was sort of like ceramic but I was sure it was probably something stronger. Around my waist was a metal belt that had electromagnetic points on the sides and rear. In the middle of my upper chest was a small stylized silhouette of Black Getter's head, sans scarf. The logo, guess. Completing the look was a scarf that was black on the outside and red on the inside.

When I asked Control if the scarf was really necessary, the Drone broke stealth and went right up to my face before answering in the most serious tone I had ever heard from them.

Yes. It is a sacred tradition.

Control also assured me that the suit itself would be more than capable of protecting my body despite the lack of visible armoring around vital areas.

The reactive material of the suit will detect if you are about to be exposed to physical trauma and will harden as needed. It is how it protects you should you be exposed to extreme forces while piloting.

I asked how the suit could do that and Control started an exhaustive explanation. When they realized that I understood none of the science behind it, the AI just sighed and told me not to worry about it.

But of course, something had to bring my mood down. My success had once again bitten me in the ass considering the people I was accompanying in this particular expedition.

I looked at a nervous looking Olivia at my side. She was wearing a much more traditional looking set of adventuring armor, at my recommendation. She wore leather clothing under plates of armor that covered her chest, arms, and shins. It emphasized protecting critical parts while being flexible enough to run with. Unfortunately, the rest of our peers seemed to prioritize looking good over actually having protection.

"I'm sorry you had to be here, but Miss Angelica was insistent that you come with us." The 'us' that Olivia was talking about was what can be considered as the Upper Crust of our year. There looked to be around thirty students all in all, including the two of us. The most notable members of our Raid Group were Angelica, Prince Julius, and the rest of the love interests.

I took a glance at the remaining two that I hadn't encountered yet.

One was tall and slender, notable for having light blue hair and matching eyes. His glasses only enhanced his image as a stern individual. He had a sword strapped to the waist of his stylish outfit. Chris Fia Arclight, the son of Holfort's Sword Saint and the game's tryhard swordmaster type.

The other one was a complete contrast to Chris. Greg Fou Seberg looked like the ideal rugged type of guy. Short red hair with matching eyes. He was quite muscular, which was demonstrated by his rolled up sleeves that exposed his large arms. A well crafted spear was propped up on his shoulder.

The two infighters amongst the love interests. Both are pretty reliable in a scrap, but that was all they were good for. Together with Julius, Jilk, and Brad, the five of them exuded charisma regular guys like me couldn't hope to come close to.

So, why the hell were Olivia and I among this group of super elites?

Olivia was a unique existence for being the first and only Special Scholarship Student. On the other hand, I was already an established adventurer and that apparently meant that I could be counted on to act as a bodyguard to Prince Julius. Olivia said that Angelica was the one who recommended me for the position.

I still hadn't expected that the girl Olivia gave her gift to as tribute was Angelica. At least she told me that their meeting was pretty amicable. A sharp contrast to their relationship in the game.

Regardless, such a thing should be unnecessary. We were only going through the first level of the beginner floors. So up to Floor Three at most. Our sheer numbers alone would guarantee that any monsters that showed up would just get dogpiled on immediately.

We were instructed to split up into teams and make our way to the third floor as I predicted. The teachers will be down there to confirm our accomplishment as well as prevent idiots from trying to go deeper. We all split off into five teams of six, though we all just moved together anyway. The only difference was that Prince Julius' group was in the middle because he couldn't afford to be harmed. My group was acting as a vanguard, because of course we were. It was me, Olivia, and four randos I didn't really care about.

People were finalizing their groupings when Angelica's furious shrieking echoed through the caverns. What the hell?

I took a look at the developing situation and saw someone I should have also expected. Marie was hiding behind Julius while Angelica was understandably trying to get the other girl away from her betrothed.

"What is happening? Why is Miss Angelica so angry?" Olivia fretted at my side. That's what I wanted to know! This was supposed to be an event where Olivia was protected by Julius from Angelica!

It got even worse when the rest of the love interests started stepping up to stand between Marie and Angelica. The confrontation quickly ended after that. When I glanced at Marie and saw her victorious smirk, it all clicked.

She was going to try to replace Olivia as the main protagonist!

The teachers had us proceed through the dungeons before anything else happened between the students. I looked at Angelica's frustration as she ignored her followers, then to Marie's joyous face as she basked in the attention of the love interests, then finally to Olivia's nervousness as she walked alongside me. I concluded that the whole situation was nuts.

All in all, the walk through the dungeon was pretty boring. The environment was basically an abandoned mine with wide tunnels and passageways that led all over the place. The advantage we had as the vanguard was that we basically had first pick on any treasure chests and resource points that showed up.

"But why are there treasure chests appearing out of nowhere?" Olivia asked as she pulled out a chunk of iron straight out of the wall. It wasn't even ore, it was already refined. "Even these minerals, it all seems too convenient."

"Who knows?" I answered with a shrug as I gathered my own resources. This was more in line with what I was expecting a dungeon dive would be like.

Olivia pouted at my flippancy. "Aren't you even a bit curious?"

The girl definitely showed her lack of experience with those questions. Actual Adventurers didn't care at all and just wanted the loot from dungeons.

Olivia and I ended up taking point in our team, making us walk way ahead of the main group itself. We didn't really click with any of the other people so we just gravitated to each other again. After a bit more walking, I noticed movement from further down the passageway.

"Speaking of things in the dungeon that inexplicably appear out of nowhere." I spoke out while deliberately stepping in front of Olivia. The girl curiously looked past me and gasped. Three dog sized ants skittered their way towards us.

My hands went to my waist as I gripped the handles of the weapons Control made for me, the electromagnets in my belt that kept them in place turning off. I had originally intended to come down here with my regular rifle and sword combination, but was vetoed by the AI. Instead, I held in each hand a pair of hand clubs that had each had an axe head sticking out the side.

Control called them Tomahawks, but I was pretty sure that actual tomahawks didn't look like these things. When I asked why the tip of the club was so wide and heavy, Control just said that it made it easier to throw them.

I decided to test that out on one of the giant ants. Once they got close enough, I pulled my arm back and threw the tomahawk in my right hand. It spun in the air, end over end, before bisecting the ant and lodging itself on the ground by the axe blade. These things were sharper than I thought. The giant insect carapace didn't even slow it down by even a bit.

The remaining two ants continued their advance towards us, not even bothering to acknowledge the death of their companion. I switched my remaining tomahawk to my right hand and prepared to intercept. Their jaws opened up and looked to be targeting my legs, though I doubt they would have been able to bite through my boots. They were almost in range when a shot rang out from behind me and hit the ground right in front of one of the ants. Olivia yelped as the recoil from the magic handgun that Angelica apparently lent her made her take a step back. I wasn't about to complain about the support as her attack still made one of the ants hesitate, letting me have a go at them one at a time.

Quickly side stepping away from the lead ant, I raised my tomahawk and brought it down on its body before it could keep going and attack Olivia. Surprisingly, it still moved but was quickly dealt with by a shot to the head by Olivia. At that range, she didn't miss. I pulled out my weapon from the dissolving corpse and, in one motion, smashed the head of the third ant right as it got close to me.

"That was so scary!" Olivia exclaimed, her voice trembling. She had her handgun in a deathgrip, though it was pointed at the ground thankfully. "Are there even more of those monsters down here?"

"Well yeah, it's a dungeon." I answered with a shrug. Honestly, the ants were jokes compared to the monsters we had in the wilderness back home. I took another glance at Olivia and her gun. "You'll want to put in more practice with that thing."

The girl nodded and regarded the weapon in her hands. "I know. One of Miss Angelica's friends showed me how to use it but firing it against moving things is much harder than a target."

I hummed in response and walked over to the tomahawk that I threw. Just then, a shape shot out from the darkness and went for my head. I was barely able to raise my left arm to block it. The screeching of a monkey-like monster echoed as it reached out and clawed at my face, making me wince when the sharp nails dug into my cheek.

"Leon!" I ignored Olivia's cries due to the monkey snapping its jaws at my face.

"That's enough of that." I snarled while angling the tomahawk in my hand against its neck. A swift slice later, the monster's head and body separated and fell to the ground. I touched my cheek and winced, my fingers coming away with blood. That's what I got for being overconfident.

"Leon, you're hurt!" Olivia reached up and checked my wound. I was about to say that it was fine when I saw a faint white light coming from her hands. The stinging pain on my face was quickly replaced by warmth and relief. Ah, right. The main protagonist was special because of her Healing Magic, something that was rare in the setting.

Olivia proceeded to give me a smile that made my heart race. "All healed up. Does it still hurt?"

"No, it's perfect." I mumbled. "Thank you, Olivia."

I picked up the tomahawk on the ground and secured both of them back on my waist. Olivia and I turned back to the direction where the rest of the group was when we heard the familiar shrieks of monsters.

"There must be monsters that are coming in from the side tunnels." I mused. I looked at Olivia when she pulled on my arm.

"Should we go back and help them?" She asked worriedly. Normally, that would be the right thing to do.

"They'll be fine. There are too many of us to be actually threatened by the types of monsters that are at this level." Not to mention that the love interests along with Angelica should be able to deal with it. "Plus they have Greg, who has already gone through a few dungeons himself."

"We're the vanguard, so we need to make sure that at least they don't have to worry about any monsters coming from the front." I reasoned. But really, I just didn't want to bother walking back to help in a fight that I probably wasn't needed in.

Olivia seemed to take my advice to heart and gave a determined nod.

We continued through the dungeon and got through the second floor. Olivia still had some difficulty hitting moving targets but the distractions made it easy for me to get better positioning. Fighting like this was way better than the turn based system that the game had. I didn't need to wait for my enemies to act on their turn!

"Well, what do you know." I commented as one of the ants that Olivia shot and killed suddenly glowed bright and turned into a treasure chest. "Congratulations, Olivia. You got a treasure chest."

"But why?" She asked in confusion. Yeah, seeing something like that happen before your eyes was probably pretty weird the first time.

"Who cares? Come on, open it up." I urged and got a surprised look.

"Me? But you're the one who has been doing most of the fighting." She pointed out, but I just waved her off and gestured to the chest.

"It was your kill that turned into a chest, so the contents belong to you." That and any treasure drops from monsters this weak wouldn't be anything good anyway.

With one more concerned glance towards me, Olivia proceeded to open the chest. Her eyes widened and her face split into a big smile. Reaching into the chest, she pulled out a bundle of plants.

"Leon, look! These are healing herbs!" As expected, they were pretty common drops. "How much should I keep?"

I blinked at her question. "What do you mean?"

"Huh? I mean, how much of this do you want as your portion?" Ah, now I understand. I shook my head and smiled at her.

"We have been working together, but that kill was all you. This is your accomplishment, so that is your reward." I explained one of the basic rules of Adventuring. Olivia looked between me and the herbs in her hands.

"Mine?" I nodded and her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, this is my reward."

Tears formed in her eyes and Olivia started laughing. I blinked in confusion and just waited for her to calm down. She took a deep breath and gave me another heartfelt smile.

"Thank you, Leon."

Ba-dump

Ah. The charisma of an Otome Protagonist is pretty scary.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

snip

Click to shrink...

Calling it now. Leon is Ryoma, Olivia is Benkei, and that scary-ass dude from the Commonwealth is Hayato.

 

[Blackraptor]

One of the things I definitely wasn't expecting when I became friends with Olivia was her complete willingness to abuse her ability to see the Getter Rays coming off me. Whenever she had the chance to, the girl unerringly tracked me down and suggested that we eat lunch or study together. After the first few times, I asked how she kept finding me and she just shrugged before answering.

"I just followed the green light."

Scary!

Olivia was becoming scary!

We were studying at the library when I made another realization about Olivia. She was smart, intimidatingly so. She was able to read ahead enough on magic studies that she was effectively six months ahead of the actual topics being discussed. I wasn't even able to keep up with her pace and just made up vague explanations and suppositions whenever she had a question.

For some reason, she was happy with all my answers no matter how dumb they sounded even to me. Each smile and word of thanks made me feel like climbing into a hole and never coming out.

I had forgotten how terrifying the protagonist's growth rate was once she decided on a specialization.

One thing I did want to talk to her about was the girl who had been stealing away her love interests one by one. They were idiots and were useless without Olivia in the game, but they were going to be instrumental in her rise to becoming a Saint.

"I don't know much about Marie. She was being bullied even worse than I was for a while but that has settled down recently." Olivia said when I asked what she knew about the other girl. When I asked if she had any interactions with Marie directly, Olivia stared at me with an expression I couldn't recognize. "Are girls like Marie more to your liking?"

I blinked and leaned forward. "I would rather jump off a floating island and have the island fall on top of me."

Olivia giggled at my heartfelt answer and shook her head. She then thought about my previous question.

"I haven't talked to her a lot, but she doesn't seem to like me." She sighed as she looked like recalling a memory. "Whenever we would encounter each other, she would tell me to leave. When I finally gathered the courage to ask why she was so mean, she just said that she hated girls like me."

Well, that confirmed that Marie was comfortably against Olivia. So much for having them talk it out and come to an agreement when it came to the love interests. Looks like Olivia would need to stake her own claims on at least one of them.

We were walking through the library to leave when we heard giggling and whispers coming from between the shelves. I silently cursed whoever was having fun in the library and decided to maybe give them a bit of a spook.

"Where are you going?" Olivia asked as I made the detour. She blinked when she started hearing the same thing I did. "What is that?"

"A pair of students trying to have an intimate moment." It takes a few seconds for Olivia to understand what I was talking about. When she did, her face went completely red and she started pulling on my arm.

"We shouldn't snoop around other people's private affairs." Sorry Olivia. While that is probably true under most circumstances, I need to keep track of which girls are already getting taken for the sake of finding myself a nice girl to marry.

"Then they shouldn't be doing it in public areas." I pointed out. Olivia ended up being sort of dragged along as I moved between the shelves until we found the perpetrators.

"That's–" I raised a finger to my lips to signal Olivia to stay quiet. I felt my enthusiasm burn and crackle to ash as we watched Marie being held against a bookshelf and making out with Brad Fou Field. Of course it would be the playboy. I moved to leave but Olivia seemed paradoxically entranced, I had to tug at her arm a couple of times until she followed.

"Was that supposed to be kissing?" She whispered to herself, face red and fingers touching her lips. "Why their tongues though?"

I tuned out the rest of her muttering as we left the library for my own sanity. The only thing on my mind was how Marie already triggered multiple events with at least two of the love interests.

I spent a few days unsuccessfully trying to find situations where Olivia could raise some flags with the other love interests. The girl seemed confused by some of my actions, with trying to have her observe Chris' training or Greg's workouts. Unfortunately, they were usually either too busy or were already surrounded by other people. It didn't help that Olivia's schedule didn't line up with mine or the love interests well under most circumstances. Jilk was next to impossible as he was attached to the prince's hip. No chance of getting him alone with Olivia either.

The few days when I tried to get my mind off the dilemma with Olivia, I was reminded of my own problems when it came to girls.

"Milly and Jessica already accepted proposals." Daniel sullenly reported when him, me, and Raymond were hanging out in my room. I winced at the news as those two were top class first year girls who were both rich and actually had good personalities. It was worse since Raymond had told us about his plan to invite Milly to a Tea Party.

"There is no hope. All the remaining first year girls are horrible!" Daniel bemoaned before looking at me. "What about you, Leon? Did you already give up? You've been spending all your time with the Scholarship girl."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "I've been trying. But all my Tea Party invitations get turned down."

My two friends looked at each other and Raymond put his hand on my shoulder. "It's because you've been completely focused on the Scholarship–"

"Her name is Olivia." I interrupted, getting mad at how people kept referring to her with a label instead of her name. The two of them looked startled at my outburst but they quickly looked at me with worry.

"That's what we're talking about. Girls avoid you because of how close you are to…Olivia." Daniel explained slowly. "Maybe you should put some distance between the two of you?"

The idea was logical, but it just left a bitter taste in my mouth. I should have been fine with their suggestion since I've been trying to set Olivia up with one of the love interests.

"-then Prince Julius just went off on Angelica and yelled at her to stop bullying Marie." Raymond's words snapped me out of my thoughts. He noticed my alarmed expression. "Do you know anything about this, Leon?"

"No…just surprised that the prince would do something like that." I lied through my teeth. They seemed to buy it as they started talking about something else. I was still thinking about what happened to the prince. I knew that event pretty well, mainly because it was supposed to happen in the late game on his route.

Both my friends left after a bit longer and I was left with my thoughts. Events out of sequence. A girl in the place of the protagonist. The protagonist was not being close to any of the love interests.

You are distressed.

I sighed at Control's voice. They hadn't approved of my plan to guide Olivia to tripping flags with the love interests, but didn't say anything when I tried it anyway. "Everything is a mess. Marie is stealing Olivia's love interests and things aren't happening the ways that they should."

As I previously suggested, Marie Fou Lafan may very well be a reincarnated individual like yourself. She is likely trying to take Olivia's place, with everything that comes with it.

"Even if that's the case, she should know that Olivia is required to end up with at least one of those guys to stop what will eventually happen." I whined as I flopped onto my bed. "If I could just have Olivia get Chris' or Greg's attention then we may still be able to salvage the plot."

Leon, we may need to accept that the original sequence of events based on your knowledge is obsolete. Too many variables have been introduced. Too many events have deviated.

"No, we have to stick to the script. Once the situation with Olivia gets resolved then I can go back to trying to find a bride." I insisted with gritted teeth. It was something I'd realized that I didn't want to let go.

Why are you so insistent that things not change even though they already have? I doubt Olivia would appreciate being foisted to one of these so-called love interests.

"Because if I don't fix the plot…"

Staring at the Title Screen

Trial and Error

Failures

Traps

Inescapable Bad Ends

Different Endings

Different Routes

Looking for Secrets

Using Microtransactions

Sleepless Nights

Repetition

Neverending Repetition

Over

and

Over

and

Over

Until it was Over

"...then why the hell am I even here?" What did I die for?

Control didn't answer for a while so I just closed my eyes and wallowed in silence.

Then perhaps, like Marie. You are here to change the script.

I opened my eyes, looked up at the ceiling, and wondered what the hell Control was talking about.

This is not your dating sim. People don't act on a script or through triggers of events. They interact, bond, and change organically. They make choices and live with the consequences of them. They have free will.

I knew that. Deep down, from the moment I started bonding with Olivia, I knew. "Then that means the things I know are worthless."

Not all of it, but I would not suggest forcing yourself or others to adhere to it. A more agile way of thinking will be required moving forward.

"You're pretty good at this whole talking things through thing." I couldn't help but smile when I said it.

Personal Emotional Development and Self-Actualization are hallmarks of becoming a Getter pilot. I see no reason why you would be any different.

I took a deep breath and sat up. "Where does that leave us?"

We know precious little about the actualities of the overarching situation. Finding out more on the facts in the situations of Marie and Angelica would be a good start.

"It's not like I can spy on either of them without immediately looking suspicious." It made sense but I wasn't some sort of fantasy ninja who could remain undetected.

Leon?

"Yeah?"

I am invisible.

I blinked before I collapsed into a fit of laughter. "Have I told you how much I love you, Control?"

Not recently, but thank you.

…

Angelica Rapha Redgrave was a descendant of royalty. As befitting her station, she stayed in the most luxurious room available for girls. She stood by the window of her room, her followers just finished telling her that Prince Julius had bought Marie Fou Lafan a demi-human slave. The symbolism of such a gift would be obvious to anyone.

She dismissed her followers and walked to a nearby table. She took a deep breath and proceeded to throw a small vase against the floor.

"Why?! Why her?! Why is he so absorbed in satisfying her whims?!" She yelled as she threw more objects across the room.

Angelica was the daughter of a Duke. In terms of rank and prestige, she was the ideal partner. It was why she was going to marry Prince Julius. She was raised to be the next Queen.

Not long ago, the prince and the other heirs of the high lords interrogated the girls who were bullying Marie. Angelica herself had not ordered anyone to harass the girl, such actions were beneath her. They weren't even her followers. Unfortunately, they didn't care about their actual affiliation. What mattered ultimately was that the bullies indicated her as the mastermind.

She had tried to explain it to Julius, but he nor his friends would give her the chance and just condemned her all the same. Even now, Marie's power base due to her association with them grew by the day. Angelica didn't care about the girl's personal clout. What rankled her more was how quickly and deeply Julius and the others believed the lies.

She ended up as nothing more than a scapegoat.

"Why? I was raised to be with the prince. If I can't be with him…" Angelica whispered while curling into a ball.

"...then why am I even here?" What did she dedicate her childhood for?

No one answered her. The only sounds that could be heard were Angelica's own sobs.

…

Olivia was just an ordinary girl who just happened to be able to use Healing Magic. She was discovered in her village by a traveling sage and a whirlwind sequence of events ended up with her enrolled at the Academy as a Special Scholarship Student. She was then expected to study alongside the nobility.

To say that she was out of place was an understatement. Ridicule and bullying followed. She didn't understand why everyone was either ignoring her or being angry at her. She had hoped that participating in a Tea Party would change that.

It did, but not at the Tea Party she intended to attend nor was it in the way she expected.

A young man who earned everything with his own two hands. Who had the respect and admiration of the highest ranking female student of their year. Who was so far out of Olivia's league that she shouldn't even associate with him. To her utter disbelief, that wasn't the case either.

He invited her to have tea with him.

He had his sister help her with the dilemma she was going through.

He helped her buy a gift to have her at least tolerated by the other girls.

He guided her through her first foray into an actual dungeon.

He helped her study and accompanied her whenever she asked.

He even tried to introduce her to new people, unsuccessful as the attempts were.

"I don't know why I'm here…" She whispered to herself as she closed her book.

You deserve to be here.

"...but I'm here for a reason." And as long as he was at her side, she would find that answer.

 

[Blackraptor]

That officially takes care of the first arc of the story. As far as what the next arc will be titled, here's a hint:

 

[Rodvek97]

Well done, Control. Talk gentle and slowly to help Leon to solve his trauma and to become better. So, Leon will be shounen harem protagonist. And Olivia is scary!! She become your stalker Leon and you cant hide from her anymore.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

Finally. Leon will get his sideburns.

 

[al103]

Honestly... why do I think that for all his success Control tries to make Ryouma out of Jin?

PS. And then Olivia was Ryouma.

 

[Blackraptor]

"And that's five." I bitterly muttered as Control projected a video they recorded of Marie being kissed by Greg. I already saw her and Chris cozying up the other day as well. "I guess she wins the any-percent reverse-harem speedrun."

I don't know what any of those words mean together, but I can sense annoyance and begrudging respect.

Marie played her part as the pseudo-protagonist perfectly as far as raising flags with the love interests went. Even if I had continued my original plan of introducing Olivia to Chris or Greg, it would have been too late anyway.

Will this affect events negatively moving forward?

"Hopefully, the endgame won't trigger just because of all the flags." I still had to consciously keep myself from treating everything as a series of flags and events, but Control was there to call me out whenever I would relapse back into that way of thinking. However, we could still use the more major world events as references.

There were a number of different endings available in the game depending on which love interest the player chose. However, the final third of the game would always be about dealing with the same ultimate threat.

The Principality of Fanoss

A former territory of the Holfort Kingdom that had gained independence a long time ago. They developed a deep seated hatred towards the Kingdom due to multiple attempts to militarily reabsorb the Principality.

They would eventually end up attacking Holfort in ever escalating capacity and it would be up to the player and their love interest to help deal with them. Mainly through the manifestation of Olivia's power as a Saint, something I currently had no idea how to resolve yet.

I had educated Control about the Principality and they suggested against trying to deal with the threat prematurely. They reasoned that we didn't know any possible consequences in being the aggressor of the conflict. I agreed as I honestly didn't want to kill anyone anyway.

"What I'm worried about is Angelica." I brought up something I've only recently considered. Angelica wasn't just an obstacle or Boss that Olivia or Marie had to overcome. She was an actual person like me.

Prince Julius' betrothed as well the primary antagonist of the game.

I nodded and thought back at all the events Marie had managed to trigger so far. With what Angelica had already gone through and what her personality was like. "She must be losing her mind with how fast Marie managed to seduce Prince Julius away from her."

You believe that she will try to do something drastic.

I closed my eyes and ran through the events of the game. They weren't as reliable as I wanted anymore, but there would still be things that would probably stay the same. All the events Marie had triggered lent credence to that. "There will be an event where she would have challenged Olivia to an Armor duel. It would end up being between champions of their choice. The event should be months away to let the player bulk up in power and get used to the Armor combat mechanic with their chosen love interest."

The timetable for that may end up being moved up then, should we intervene?

That was the big question. Based on the information that Control had gathered about Angelica, her reputation was at an all-time low. Multiple public displays of disdain by Prince Julius and the other love interests made associating with her political kryptonite. Even if she challenged Marie and her reverse-harem to a duel, I didn't know who she'd even have on her side.

The thought made me more irritated than I expected, that Marie could just do that to someone.

"I don't really have any good reason to get involved in their affairs. I doubt I can just arrange a meeting with her." I lamented to Control.

Actually, you may have a means to meet her privately.

"Well, I'm open to any suggestions." It was so great to have someone to bounce ideas off of and give reasonable ideas–

Invite her to a Tea Party.

–nevermind. "Control, you understand the purpose of Tea Parties, right?"

I have done research on the activity and made independent observations on other Tea Parties that have been held.

Right. That was part of their personal initiative to learn more about the current culture that humanity ended up with.

Though their primary purpose is for young bachelors to attract prospective spouses, there does not seem to be any rules to prevent anyone who is already engaged from hosting or attending a Tea Party.

The frustrating thing about it was that Control was completely right. The five love interests have all hosted Tea Parties to great success even though a few of them were already slated to marry someone else.

"Would she even entertain an invitation from someone like me?" I voiced my doubts based on the disparity between the status of me and Angelica. To say nothing about how hyperfocused she seemed to be about Prince Julius.

Angelica was the one who recommended you for that expedition through a dungeon some time ago. We can at least assume that she has an awareness of you, perhaps even having a positive opinion of you. It may be enough for her to accept an invitation.

Okay, those were actually pretty good points. Then again, "I'd rather not have any rumors developing around the two of us though."

Then I suggest inviting Oliva along as well. That would assuage possible concerns as most of the first-year student body are already of the impression that you and Olivia are romantically involved.

"What?! Since when?!" I asked in complete panic.

No brain! Shut up! Stop imagining Olivia in romantic situations.! You're supposed to be on my side!

There have been minor whispers but the rumors gained more traction after the previously mentioned dungeon expedition.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?!"

I had thought that you were aware of it with how much time the two of you have been spending with each other. It would not be a leap of logic from an outsider's perspective as to the nature of your relationship.

"That wasn't my intention at all! That was mostly Olivia tracking me down and asking me to do stuff with her!" I yelled and was about to complain some more when Control's next words made my thoughts freeze up.

Then will you start distancing yourself from Olivia as previously suggested by your two friends?

I opened my mouth but couldn't bring myself to say 'yes'.

"Shit." I settled instead.

Since this is already the current perception, we may as well take advantage of it.

I grumbled some more but couldn't fault the AI's reasoning. "Fine. We'll figure out a way to sort out the whole Olivia thing later."

As I mentioned earlier, Angelica seems to see you in a favorable light. Additionally, she seems to also see Olivia positively. She even let her keep the weapon she lent, did she not?

Control was talking about the magic handgun that Olivia said Angelica lent her for the dungeon when the other girl found out that she didn't have any weapons at all. It all lined up pretty well, all in all. "I can't believe I'm actually starting to think that this will be a good idea."

Any further discussion on the matter was interrupted when someone started banging on my door.

"Leon! Open this door! We need to talk! Now!" I blinked at Jenna's pissed off voice. I glanced at Control, the Stealth Probe they were using immediately went invisible. I gave it a few more seconds before opening the door. Jenna stormed inside, followed by her catboy slave, even before I could get a word out.

"Nice to see you too, Jenna." I sarcastically greeted my older sister while closing the door.

"Cute, now start talking." I furrowed my brow at her.

"Jenna, I have no idea what you even want me to talk about."

"Of course you don't." She muttered, quite more high strung than she usually was. "Tell me about what the hell is going on in the first-year department!"

I sighed and shook my head. "Still not specific enough, sorry."

"There are crazy rumors going around everywhere and I don't know who to believe. You have to know something." Ah, so all the nonsense going on had started filtering up to our seniors. Well, there's only one big topic recently.

"Let me guess, Marie Fou Lafan?" Jenna perked up immediately and pointed at me.

"So you do know something! Talk!" Jeez, you could turn it down a few notches, sis.

"From what I can tell, she's managed to get pretty close to Prince Julius and the rest of his friends." I gave her an abridged count of what a student would likely know. I sure wasn't going to tell her what I really knew.

"That matches up with some of what I learned. What about the Duke's daughter that's in your year?" Angelica? They even know about the incidents with her? "The Prince has gotten pretty upset at her a few times in public."

I thought about it and realized that it was a good opportunity to get a fresh perspective. If Jenna was going to grill me for information, I might as well get something out of it. "Actually, have you heard anything about that on your end? People have been saying that she was the one who ordered the bullying on Marie."

"Of course they'd say that." Jenna sighed, like she was just told something particularly stupid. "Someone at her rank wouldn't need to make the order, the people below her would have done it on their own. Think about it, she's the daughter of a Duke. If she really wanted Marie gone, then she'd be gone. Permanently."

I blinked from what she just said. "So she had nothing to do with it?"

"It doesn't matter. If her minions were doing it, then she still needs to take responsibility." My sister scoffed. What? That's bullshit!

"That's not fair. Shouldn't the culprits themselves take the fall?" I asked and Jenna suddenly looked really tired.

"That's how these things go."

Then Angelica really didn't bully Marie at all? But that was how it went in the game with the player. Or was I actually misremembering it and just forgot the specifics?

"The other years are going all in a panic over all this. Even my plans have been messed up! Argh! Do you have any idea what this means?!" I blinked at the sudden resurgence of emotion.

"I'm sorry you've been having a hard time at school?" I tried and failed to guess what Jenna meant. She looked up at the ceiling as if the answers to life were stuck up there.

"You're in the same year as the future King! If you can get in his favor then you're set for life. If you piss him off, then it's over for you!." She explained before she suddenly stopped and walked up to me. "You're not involved in this mess, right?"

"I promise that I am not presently involved with any of the nonsense that has been going on around the prince. Honestly, I've had my hands full with my own problems like you said." I said, referencing her own words from the time she gave Olivia some advice. She narrowed her eyes at me for a few seconds but eventually nodded.

"Each of the grades have separate end-of-term parties. Don't do anything stupid during yours." She reminded me before walking up to my door. "And make sure you find a suitable bride!"

Well, if she was going to act like that. "I will as soon as you find a husband."

"Go jump out a window!" She yelled before walking out of my room with her slave and slamming my door closed.

Just like old times.

She will be very disappointed in you once she finds out where you actually stand on the matter.

I snorted at Control's comment. "What she doesn't know can't hurt me."

I went over to my bed and sat down, thinking over the situation with the info tha Jenna just added. Marie was really stirring things up everywhere. I wondered if that also went on in the background during the game but was just never given any focus?

Will we still move forward with my suggestion?

Inviting Angelica over for a tea party to give her a place to relax and be away from all the crap she was probably dealing with. If successful, we might be able to at least mitigate a bit of the emotional damage she was suffering from. Even better if she reacts positively to it and Olivia and I gain a new political ally. It really was a good idea.

In fact…

"Actually, since we're already going to do something I would have thought crazy anyway." I started, licking my lips. Was I really going to do this? Fight fire with fire, as it were? "What are the chances that the betrothed of other love interests would want to vent about the current situation with Marie over tea and snacks as well?"

Are you planning on taking their future brides for yourself?

Control's words made my brain stall for a second before I started laughing. "That sounds a bit too crazy, Control. No, I just want to see if I can get a few allies in case I get pushed into opposing Marie and her reverse-harem more directly."

I'll see what I can find out about them.

"You're the best, Control!" I said before opening up the window for them to fly out of.

I talked to Olivia about my intention to invite Angelica to a Tea Party when we had a chance to have lunch together again. She was about to bite into a piece of fruit when I brought up my plan.

"Miss Angelica? So you want to have a Tea Party with her?" Wow, Olivia. No need to say it in a tone that makes it sound like you think I was stupid and crazy.

"Actually," I quickly stated when I noted the way she asked that question. "I wanted to know if you would join us too."

"Me? Why? Wouldn't it be better if it was just the two of you?" She asked me, both looking and sounding frustrated at the request. Uh-oh, I better head this off.

"It would actually work out better if you were there." I began explaining. "I'm not inviting Angelica because of any romantic intention."

That seemed to calm her down but she still looked pretty confused. "Really? Then why?"

"You've heard about what's been happening between her, Prince Julius, and Marie?" Olivia nodded and looked pretty sad about it. What a nice girl. "Well, I decided that she probably needed a place to relax or even get some things off her chest."

"And you think a Tea Party would help?" She asked, face brightening as she probably saw where I was going with this.

"Yep, and having you there would keep her from thinking that I had more nefarious objectives." I continued and wiggled my fingers at Olivia when I said 'nefarious', making her giggle.

"Then you just want to help Miss Angelica." She placed a hand on her chest as she said that, sounding relieved. She seemed pretty concerned for Angelica's wellbeing.

"Why not? It's not like anyone else has been accepting my invitations." I flatly said while looking to the side, lamenting my current failure at attracting a bride. I looked back to Olivia and saw her staring at me in silence.

I was about to ask her if she was okay when she suddenly responded. "Okay, I'll do it."

Score! I clapped and suddenly felt a weight lift off my shoulders."That's great!"

"If you want, I can even deliver the invitation for you directly." She offered with a gentle smile and a surprising tone of confidence.

"Wait, are you sure?" I cautiously asked. The last thing we needed was Angelica and Olivia clashing because she tried to force an invitation. "You'd need to get past her followers to do that."

"I'll be fine! I promise!" I could only nod and accept the help. I guess I would just need to trust in Olivia's Otome protagonist charisma.

Control managed to identify Jilk as the only other love interest with a betrothed who was available. A third-year named Clarice Fia Atlee, the daughter of an Earl so her family was no joke. Control had been getting conflicting information about her though. They overheard some higher years talking about her as someone kind and friendly. However, when they actually went to see what she was like, Clarice had the look and attitude of a delinquent-type student instead. Even the people she surrounded herself with looked like trouble.

I still think it would be worth the attempt to invite her.

I agreed with Control and sent out an invitation to Clarice, scheduled a week after the Tea Party with Angelica. Worst thing that could happen was that she declines. Actually, no. The worst thing would be if both her and Angelica declined my invitations.

A few days later, I got everything ready for my new Tea Party and even dug a bit into my remaining treasure to make sure I had top of the line stuff. Unfortunately, due to some scheduling issues, I ended up hosting both Angelica and Clarice at the same time. The senior just up and barged into the room and declared that she only had today available.

I started serving tea after everyone was introduced, Olivia looked concerned while Angelica looked annoyed when Clarice showed up. The older girl didn't seem to care about either of them.

"Thank you for still attending even though our original schedule was not workable for you." I said to Clarice as she sampled my tea.

"Well, I was intrigued at the first-year who had the guts to actually invite me to a Tea Party. I got even more interested after I found out more about you, mister Provisional Baron." She responded with a cocky smirk.

In contrast to her attitude, Angelica and Olivia were completely silent and were just staring at their drinks. The tension in the air was palpable.

I was wrong.

This was the worst that could happen.

Why couldn't things just work out the way you planned it?! That's what planning is for!

 

[Rodvek97]

Thanks for the great chapter

 

[Blackraptor]

Well, the Tea Party certainly could have started on a better foot. Stuck between the daughter of a Duke and the daughter of an Earl, I needed to find a way to diffuse the situation.

Sadly, the good times continued to roll as Clarice gave me a saucy smile. "So how are you going to try to seduce me, Leon~?"

I was dumbstruck by her forwardness and couldn't respond for a couple of seconds. The initiative was taken from me when both Olivia and Angelica set their teacups back down on their respective saucers with more force than was strictly necessary. Watch it! Those are really expensive!

I looked between the two girls and saw Angelica looking at Clarice with annoyance while Olivia looked at me blankly. Please stop looking at me like that Olivia, you're being scary again!

"Please just stop, Clarice." Angelica addressed our senior in a surprisingly pained voice. The girl in question actually flinched just a bit but quickly put up an amused expression.

"Hey now. I'm just trying to see what kind of fun Leon here has in store for me." Clarice tried to tease me, but her tone wasn't nearly as convincing as it was earlier.

"Leon and Olivia don't know you personally. So please, at least in front of me, drop the act." The third-year girl suddenly shut up and winced at Angelica's words.

"I guess I'm still not good enough to fool you, Angie." Clarice weakly laughed, her entire demeanor and posture changed right before our eyes. To my surprise, she then looked at me and actually looked genuinely apologetic. "I'm sorry about putting you through that, Leon. I've just been trying something new."

"Wait, Miss Angelica and Miss Clarice know each other?" Olivia voiced the question in both of our heads. My eyes widened when it lined up for me in my head.

My right palm met my forehead when I finally understood. "Of course they know each other, their fiancées are best friends."

Clarice giggled and explained their relationship. "Yep. Angie and I have been friends for years now. Though, I haven't been able to keep in touch as much as I would have wanted to."

Angie huh? They must be close if she's using a cute nickname. "I understand. We both have our respective responsibilities "

"You know what? I'll take it." I stated with a nod, glad that things didn't escalate. "Once again, thank you both for attending my Tea Party. I am Leon Fou Bartfort."

I then gestured to Olivia. "This is Olivia, she is attending in order to prevent any rumors that I'm trying to seduce either of you ladies."

"Miss Angelica and I are already acquainted, but it is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Clarice." Olivia took the cue and smoothly introduced herself to Clarice without ignoring Angelica. Nicely done.

Clarice's eyes shone and she enveloped Olivia in a hug, making the girl squeak. "You are just precious! I'm happy to meet you too!"

My friend looked at me in panic. She was well versed in dealing with anger and ridicule from nobles, but blatant affection was probably something completely new to her. I just shrugged and noticed that Angelica was looking at the scene with a fond smile. After Clarice got her fill of embracing Olivia, the four of us settled down to actually start enjoying the tea and snacks I had prepared.

"So about earlier…" I smoothly broached the topic. Olivia, Angelica, and I turned to Clarice in obvious curiosity about her behavior.

She looked bashful at the attention, Jilk sure was a lucky man. No, wait. He was going to trade in Clarice for Marie, wasn't he? Nevermind, he's a moron.

"Ah, do you want the long version or the short version?" She asked with an awkward chuckle.

"Whichever one would be easier for you to share."

"Leon already mentioned it before, but I am Jilk Fia Marmoria's fiancée." Clarice started, more for Olivia's benefit. "I have been hearing some rather strange rumors surrounding Prince Julius and his circle of close friends. Among them is that Jilk has been seen being uncharacteristically close to another first-year. A girl named Marie Fou Lafan."

As expected, that immediately got Angelica's attention.

"I tried to call for Jilk in order to get his side of his story, but he has been refusing to meet with me. He cites that his duties with Prince Julius are keeping him busy, but the rumors have not been abating." I blinked as Clarice's tone became more harried. "One of my classmates suggested that men would notice and be concerned about drastic changes in a girl they cared about. They said that changing the way I looked and acted might get his attention enough to have him talk to me."

"Did it work?" Olivia asked hopefully.

"It's still a work in progress." Clarice easily admitted. "Besides, Angie was able to see right through me immediately! I need more practice on being a delinquent."

She then looked between the rest of us and realized something. "Actually, this is a great opportunity to get some real answers. The three of you have heard the rumors as well, right? Do any of you…know…anything?"

She became more and more uncertain as she spoke when she noticed our respective looks of discomfort.

It didn't look like either Olivia or Angelica would be able to explain things well, so I decided to bite the bullet. "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

What followed was me trying to explain the current situation between Marie and the love interests in the context of someone paying attention to the rumors. Clarice was very skeptical of the whole thing until Angelica started talking about her own experience with the matter. I also expressed that both my sister and I didn't believe that Angelica was the one who ordered Marie's bullying, something that took the girl in question by surprise.

"There has to be a more logical explanation for this, yes?" Clarice asked, sounding more like out of desperation than anything else. "I mean, Prince Julius and his entire entourage? That just sounds absurd."

"If there was, I would like to hear the explanation as well." Angelica coldly muttered.

Yep, definitely time for a break. I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention. "Instead of dwelling on that for too much, I would like the opinion of you three ladies on a new tea I've been working on."

I proceeded to serve some Honey Lemon tea. They were a bit apprehensive when I told them about the ingredients, but Olivia took a chance first and noted how nice it tasted. Angelica and Clarice soon followed and were pleasantly surprised that such a simple recipe would taste so good.

"I apologize. This probably isn't what you were expecting when you invited us for a Tea Party." Angelica said as I went around to refill everyone's cups.

"Actually, that is exactly why I invited the two of you here." I responded with a grin. Both Angelica and Clarice looked at me in surprise and incomprehension.

"Leon was worried about how all of these events might be affecting you, so he wanted to give both of you a place to relax and vent out your problems." Olivia helpfully provided as I busied myself in getting more snacks for them.

"You did this…for us?" Angelica asked, looking at me like it was the first time she actually saw me. Weird, but okay.

I stood up straight, chin up, and exuded as much gentlemanly pride as I could. "I've sworn to only use my skill at hosting Tea Parties for good."

That got a good laugh from all three girls. This is the kind of Tea Party experience I had yearned for since the beginning. Why couldn't I meet girls as nice as the three I was with?

"You are a very strange man, Leon."

I shrugged at the third-year's comment. "You're not the first to say that, Clarice. You probably won't be the last."

That got another laugh.

The Tea Party went on a more lighthearted tone afterwards. Clarice and Angelica reminisced about fun times they spent together, with Olivia hanging on every word. The two of them also bonded over complaining and making fun of their respective fiancées.

I then let slip that Prince Julius and Jilk were idiots for neglecting the two of them.

"We appreciate what you have done for us and in the intent behind your words, but please refrain from insulting the men we love in front of us." Clarice stated apologetically, Angelica nodding along beside her.

Man, Julius and Jilk really don't deserve either of them.

Thankfully, both of them quickly forgave me for my indiscretion when I apologized and the three girls went back to talking about things that mostly went over my head. Even here, Girl Talk was indecipherable to me. I was honestly just happy to be there.

"So, can Angie and I expect more Tea Party invitations in the future?" Clarice asked jokingly as the Tea Party came to an end. I responded by jokingly clutching my heart in concern.

"As long as you don't drink me out of house and home, I'll see what I can do." I overdramatically delivered, getting a few more giggles.

"You're a very lucky girl, Olivia." Angelica commented but noticed our clueless expressions. "I mean, aren't the two of you a couple?"

Uh-oh, time to head this off. "We're friends."

Clarice and Angelica turned to Olivia for confirmation and she nodded with a smile. Whew! Misunderstanding averted! The two girls glanced at each other but didn't comment any further.

"Well, I'm glad I accepted your invitation, Leon. You have been nothing but a perfect gentleman." Clarice started speaking in a more formalized tone after Olivia and I escorted her and Angelica out the door and into the hallway "And you are just a lovely conversationalist, Olivia."

"Indeed, it was most enjoyable. Thank you both." Angelica added. I then noticed what they were doing when the students nearby started whispering to each other and pointing at us.

"It was a pleasure." I responded, with Olivia giving a smile and a wave. Hopefully, this will help with our reputation. Angelica's status among the first-year students may have been questionable, but Clarice was likely still highly regarded. I just hoped that she would drop the delinquent act after today.

"Well, I'll count that as a success." I declared in relief as Olivia and I went back into the room to clean up.

"Right! They both looked a lot happier now." She easily agreed. I wasn't sure if she had realized it, but Olivia probably just made a couple of pretty influential friends today.

"Hopefully, this will help Angelica cope with the whole Marie situation." That was the primary purpose of the whole Tea Party anyway. I wasn't sure if Control was actually in the room, but I made a mental note to tell them of our success later anyway. "She just needs to make sure that she stays calm and doesn't do anything drastic."

The days went by without any further major incident. Marie was still basking in her success, but at least Angelica hadn't blown up at her anymore. I was also correct in my guess that both Angelica and Clarice had taken a liking to Olivia. They even sponsored the dress that she was going to wear to the end-of-term party. Olivia protested of course, but that didn't stop the two noblewomen from getting her a pretty teal dress that tastefully highlighted her curves without exposing too much skin.

The party finally happened and I was happy to let Olivia spend it with Angelica. The two of them quickly became close and it showed. I had tried to take the opportunity the party presented to help out Raymond and Daniel get the attention of some of the girls, but we crashed and burned for being from what they called insignificant houses. I gave up at that point and seriously told them to try to look for girls in the higher years instead, something they admitted that they never even considered. I prayed that my friends would genuinely find better luck on that front.

We were about to go and get something to eat when Olivia suddenly ran up and grabbed my hand.

"Leon! You have to come quick!" I quickly deliberated the urgency and panic in her voice as well as who she was supposed to be with in the party.

"Angelica didn't stay calm and did something drastic, didn't she?" Olivia grimaced and gave a pained nod. "Of course she did."

I followed behind Olivia, with Daniel and Raymond tagging along as well, and ended up witnessing a scene that I had been dreading.

Julius and the other love interests standing protectively in front of Marie, who was just wearing her school uniform for some reason. She was also being held steady by a blonde haired blue eyed elf servant, probably one Julius got her. A frustrated looking Angelica wearing a red dress that was perfect for her stood a short distance in front of them.

And clutched in Marie's hands was a white glove, one that matched the singular one Angelica was still wearing.

Fuck! This was what Control and I wanted to avoid in the first place! Had we underestimated how mad Angelica can get? Did Marie trigger her on purpose? Dammit! I got too complacent because of the days leading up to the party and because Olivia was with her!

I glanced at a very worried looking Olivia and quickly whispered. "Give me a summary."

"I don't know what happened, she was fine earlier. She walked up and talked to Prince Julius. The next thing I knew, he and his friends started arguing about which one loves Marie the most. Angie got really mad and threw her glove at Marie, challenged her to a duel, and now–" Olivia's voice strained and had to take a few seconds to catch her breath. "She's all alone."

We watched Angelica, daughter of a Duke and the woman who was supposed to become the next Queen, look around for anyone who would stand at her side and found no one.

I knew what that feeling was like too.

I took a deep breath and set my game face on.

"Not while I'm here." I hissed before starting forward.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Raymond asked in alarm, grabbing my arm.

"Something crazy and stupid." I grit out and pulled myself free. Everyone was completely silent as they saw me walk up and stand next to Angelica.

The girl herself simply whispered when she found her voice. "Leon? But why?"

"I am a very strange man." I joked, echoing Clarice's words from our Tea Party. Angelica stared at me in shock before breaking out in a grateful smile.

"Thank you." I returned her smile and gave a thumbs-up. Turning back to the reverse-harem, who were regarding me with various expressions of surprise. I wasn't sure if they remembered me from the dungeon thing, but I didn't really care either way.

"My name is Leon Fou Bartfort. I put myself forward as Angelica Rapha Redgrave's Champion." I confidently stated while taking a step forward.

Angelica stepped forward so we were once again side by side. "I accept Leon Fou Bartfort as my Champion."

"Hey now, are you sure about this?" Brad asked me with barely concealed mirth. "I heard of your name before, an adventurer who became a Baron. An up and comer like you should have better sense in picking their allies."

Those words made the others regard me with a bit more seriousness, while Marie was looking at me with barely concealed shock. Didn't expect this, did you?

"Name your terms, Angelica." I stated without breaking eye contact with Marie. Prince Julius seemed to notice and moved his body to block my sight of her.

"I simply wish for Marie to stay away from the prince." Pretty much the same as in the game. I ignored the whispers and jeers from the peanut gallery.

I nodded and craned my head to try to get a look at Marie. "And you, Marie? What do you want out of this?"

"How dare you, Angelica." Instead, Prince Julius answered while glaring at his fiancée. "Your attempts in separating me from Marie will end in failure. My heart will never be yours."

I saw Angelica trembling from the corner of my vision and decided that I was going to leave the prince for last. I mirrored his earlier move and stepped in front of Angelica so the two of us were looking directly at each other.

"What are your terms, Marie?" I repeated in a much lower voice. I heard Olivia walking up and whispering to Angelica but kept my eyes right at Julius'.

After several seconds, Marie finally spoke up. "If I win, I don't want you to do cruel things like this anymore. I don't think it's right to wield your house's influence like a weapon and force others to do your bidding"

I couldn't help but scoff, making the reverse-harem collectively glare at me. Not only did I know that Angelica didn't use her influence as a weapon, I also knew that Marie just copied what the main protagonist of the game would have said in the same event.

Marie wasn't just a knockoff. She was a short, flat, knockoff.

"Just to summarize." I began, making sure not to let any of those idiots take control of the conversation. "If Angelica wins, Marie breaks off from the prince. If you win, Angelica leaves you alone. I assume we'll settle this via Armor combat?"

Chris looked like he was about to jump me but seemed to settle on talking instead. "Do you not have even the slightest awareness of the disparity in power between us?"

"I appreciate the concern, but I know exactly how outmatched this fight is." I replied while giving him the fakest smile I could do.

Greg then actually stepped forward and got right up to my face. "Stop trying to act tough just because you're an adventurer. Do yourself a favor and give up. You don't stand a chance."

I raised a brow at him. "If I really don't stand a chance, then you shouldn't be worried at all."

"We will settle this with one-on-one Armor combat." Jilk intervened before Greg could do anything stupid. "We shouldn't have an issue securing an arena. However, since there will be five of us, we will allow you to try to find other participants."

I originally would have been fine with one-on-ones, but the way Julius broke Angelica's heart earlier made me a little bit more vindictive. I wanted to make a statement. I wanted them to remember what was going to happen.

"Actually, I'll be fighting alone. In fact, I want to fight all five of you at once." The entire room erupted at my declaration. I could feel Angelica and Olivia trying to pull me away and saying things in a panic.

I couldn't understand what any of them were saying. The only thing in my sight was the five love interests that hurt my friend. I bared my teeth in a grin as they flashed looks of uncertainty.

Julius was the one who recovered first and spoke. "Then I hope you are ready for this. Even with all your accomplishments, you will never be able to overcome the five of us. Not when we fight for the sake of love."

I hated how my plans didn't pan out the way I wanted to. But as I felt the blood pumping in my veins and felt a kind of rush I had never felt before in my life, I knew one thing.

I'll at least be able to take out my frustrations on five idiots.

 

[ArsMagna1337]

snip

Click to shrink...

Finally. Leon's going full Ryoma Nagare. Soon, everyone will fear the Black Armored Demon God.

 

[Project Eden]

I really want to see Leon pick up one of the idiots as improvised club and beat the others with him. Nothing screams utter humiliation as being used as a human weapon to beat up others with.

 

[GiftofLove]

I like this. I'm glad to see Control breaking Leon of his passiveness. Or maybe that's brain damage from the Getter Rays.

 

[S T 0 |2 M]

…I hope Clarice is somehow saved by Leon before she completely loses it. Every time I see that panel in the manga my blood starts boiling from how Jilk corrupted such a nice and kindhearted girl into a depraved slut craving for any affection whatsoever.

 

[seeing_octarine]

brain damage from the Getter Rays

Click to shrink...

But is that not why we are all here? Is that not what we were all waiting for?

 

[al103]

…I hope Clarice is somehow saved by Leon before she completely loses it. Every time I see that panel in the manga my blood starts boiling from how Jilk corrupted such a nice and kindhearted girl into a depraved slut craving for any affection whatsoever.

Click to shrink...

That presumes that she ever was nice and kindhearted. And not more or less female Jilk.

 

[Laxard]

Maybe my low opinion about Super Robots (and preference of Real Robo) colored my thought a bit, but honestly, I see very little point in such crossover. Luxon probably able to do everything that Control does anyway, the real issue always has been with Leon being purposefully retarded to keep the genre humilation-comedy with heavy undertones on background purely for contrast. I much prefer another MC in the position of Leon instead of "Getter Robo Ai puts him a bit more straight".

…I hope Clarice is somehow saved by Leon before she completely loses it. Every time I see that panel in the manga my blood starts boiling from how Jilk corrupted such a nice and kindhearted girl into a depraved slut craving for any affection whatsoever.

Click to shrink...

Clarice is merely another victim of Whorefart Kingdom internal politics and related indoctrination. There is no fault of Leon in her case, and very minor fault of Jilk she just went breaking bad because of depression born from disillusionment.